


Metroid Prime: Restoration

by Superpossu



Category: Metroid Series
Genre: Canon Compliant, Education, Family, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-11
Updated: 2018-05-21
Packaged: 2019-01-06 03:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 90,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12203277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Superpossu/pseuds/Superpossu
Summary: Phazon was destroyed after the Assault on Pirate Homeworld, but the damage it did still lingered. In some cases, however, Phazon's damage only covered old wounds that had never truly healed...This story can be enjoyed by people who haven't played the Prime games. It contains some harsh things, but nothing harsher than what one can find in the games.





	1. Prologue

### Background music: [Torvus Bog Hydrodynamo Station](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7_6fLLQ1_I)  
  
Planet Norion, one year after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

  


Planet Norion

“I officially declare the Capital Train Station open”, said Patrick Garner as he cut the ceremonial ribbon. He then shook hands with mayor Stephen Reeve and smiled to the applauding crowd. Constant camera flashes almost blinded him. Soon, the applause ended. “Let’s take a look inside!” the mayor said to everyone.

While the majority of the Pirate attack was focused on the military base, some Pirates hit the capital. Because the military was focused on the main assault, defending the city was left to the police forces. They eventually defeated the Pirates, but the Pirates had had enough time to rob many stores and demolish some buildings. The Train Station was hit the worst, as the invaders wanted to delay the military’s arrival. The building had been completely ruined, and long stretches of rails were rendered unusable.

After the Pirate Homeworld was conquered, it was time to repair the damages. Unfortunately for the civilians, the military base took priority over the capital. Almost all metal went to repairing and improving the base, leaving only scraps to the capital. Mayor Reeve had started a competition to design a new train station.

The most important reason for the competition was to calm the public; he hadn’t believed that anyone could actually design a train station with so little resources. He had been amazed when he saw Patrick’s idea: instead of using metal and other imported materials, the station would be made from wood grown on Norion. While military buildings had to be made from materials capable of taking heavy punishment, civilian structures could be less durable. Most of the metal could now be used to fix the railway itself.

Patrick stepped inside the finished station right behind the mayor. He was followed by members of the press and the front of the crowd. The wooden station felt much warmer than most buildings made from metal. The walls and the ceiling were painted white make the interior bright without using many lights. The floor was light blue and the chairs and benches were a slightly darker shade of blue. Everything smelt freshly painted. Apart from a few potted plants, there building had no decorations. There would be plenty of time to decorate the station in the future.

Just as the cameramen had managed to film the interior, a train arrived – the first train in over a year. Everyone watched the train slow down and finally stop beside the new station. The doors of the train opened, and some high-ranking military officers stepped out, all in their finest parade outfits. Patrick and the mayor shook hands with them as reporters swarmed them and started shouting questions. The highest-ranking officer (a brigadier general) quickly stepped forward and started answering the reporters’ questions.

Soon, the officers boarded the train again, and the train started moving back to the military base. Remaining crowd started leaving as well, as nothing else was going to happen that day – the first public trains would start moving tomorrow. Most of the trains would transport materials instead of people, so shops will have much more – and much cheaper – products next week. The station would see much more use when tourism starts to increase.

  


Norion’s landscape

After a few minutes, Patrick stood in the mayor’s office. “Congratulations, mister Garner!” said mayor Reeve to him. “The train station will improve people’s standard of living back to where it was before the attack – and thanks to you, it starts to improve today instead of five years from now!” “I’m just glad I could help”, Patrick said “And besides, I’m one of those whose life will improve thanks to this”.

“You and me both”, said the mayor as he poured a drink for both of them, “as well as everyone living in the capital”. He offered the glass to Patrick. Patrick grabbed the glass and took a sip. It was off-world soda. Quite expensive, but soon it would be much more affordable. Mayor Reeve downed his glass in one go and took a deep breath.

He then said: “Even the governor of our sector was impressed by your feat”. “The governor?” Patrick said “That’s… great?” “So impressed, in fact, that he would like you to help with other issues around here”. Patrick shifted his weight. “I’m not sure if I want to solve any issues the military has. They tend to have all kinds of NDAs one must sign before anything gets done. And I‘ve never worked for military before”.

Reeve refilled both of their glasses. He then said: “It’s not really anything to do with the military. It’s the same thing you did here: analyze the situation and find the cheapest way to solve any problems. After that, just give your suggestions to me and I’ll send them forward. Of course, you will be compensated for this”. Patrick relaxed a bit and drank some soda. “Okay, let’s say that I accept the job. Where are the problems located?”

“Two are in our solar system, on planets Bryyo and Elysia. The third, and the most important one, is on planet Aether, in the Dasha region. Aether is a rogue planet; it has no star”. Patrick stood silent for a while. Now he could visit the planets he had watched with his binoculars since he was a child. “Can you tell me anything about the problems?”

“Yes. You might remember that the Pirates tried to use a weapon called Leviathan when they attacked us. They were unsuccessful: our orbital defense cannons destroyed the Leviathan before it could do anything”. Reeve leaned in. “Other planets had no effective orbital defense systems. They were hit hard. We are sure that the Leviathans are now gone but…” “…but the damage they did stayed. And the Federation wants to repair this damage”, Patrick finished.

“Right”, said Reeve, “but Aether is especially important, because we sent a squad of marines to assist the locals shortly before the Pirates attacked. The higher-ups ordered a total radio silence to avoid drawing any attention to them, but thanks to the war and the following scattered Pirate raids, the squad disappeared somewhere into military bureaucracy”.

Patrick was shocked. “And they’ve been there since?!” “It seems so. Someone is going to be in big trouble for this. You will give them a more powerful antenna and the Federation’s official apology, as well as food and medical supplies”. Patrick took a deep breath. “I accept the job”.

“Excellent!” Reeve said and shook his hand. “You will be provided a ship and anything else you need. I’ll inform you when everything is ready. It shouldn’t take more than a couple of days”. “Well, I’ll be waiting for your message. Good night!” Patrick said and placed his glass on the table. “Good night. Oh, and one more thing before you go”, Reeve said. “Yes?” “Remember to read the files on the planets before you land. We want no unnecessary conflicts”. “I’ll do that”, Patrick said before closing the door.


	2. Bright future

### Background music: [Luminoth Temple](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gicFGiXWIDQ)  
  
Planet Aether, a few days later

Patrick’s ship dropped out of FTL. What he saw was far more beautiful than he had expected: planets that orbit a star are always partially covered by their own shadows. They would look like a crescent or a gibbous. But Aether had no star: it was illuminated by the Light of Aether. Aether looked like a pale, green pearl floating in an ocean of stars. ’It’s very beautiful’, Patrick thought, ‘but the damage caused by the Leviathan is still clearly visible’. Aether used to be covered in forests and plains, but the cosmic impact had burned almost all of them. The planet hadn’t always looked pale. 

Planet Aether

‘But scorched soil is fertile’, Patrick thought. ‘With some effort, the planet could be restored to its former glory in no time’. He sent a landing request to the planet and checked the files about the planet he had been given again. Aether had no native sentient beings, but a long time ago, a species called Luminoth settled on it. The Luminoth had lived a peaceful life, until the Leviathan struck the planet fifty years ago. 

Leviathans were meteors made of Phazon, a toxic, radioactive material. Phazon had been an unimaginably powerful source of energy, but it could turn any other material into more Phazon: if left alone, a planet hit by a Leviathan would eventually be turned into pure Phazon. 

However, because of the Light of Aether, no Phazon was left on the planet after the impact. Instead, the Phazon reacted to the Light and created a mirror image of the planet: Dark Aether. All Phazon from the 

Leviathan ended up in the Dark Aether. Both planets were in the same place, but in different dimensions. Dark Aether was populated by monsters known as the Ing, which meant “terror” in the language of the locals. The Luminoth and the Ing waged war, as the two planets had energy to sustain only one. 

Aether and Dark Aether

After fifty years of war, a Space Pirate ship crash-landed on Aether. The Pirate crew discovered a portal to Dark Aether, and found vast sources of Phazon. The Pirates started mining the Phazon to use it as an energy source to power their machines and computers and to use it as a weapon against the Federation, as a Federation ship had followed them. 

The last part turned to be unnecessary, as the Ing slaughtered the Federation troopers on the ship. A bounty hunter was sent to find the ship and assist the crew, but she ended up annihilating the Pirate presence and erasing Dark Aether from existence. 

A year and a half ago, another Federation ship was sent to Aether to establish a contact with the Luminoth. After meeting the locals, the troopers discovered Phazon in the destroyed Pirate base. The Luminoth wanted nothing to do with the substance, so the Federation quickly shipped the material to their own military bases and begun experimenting with it. 

Later, the first ship and its crew returned to space and a new ship with fresh crew landed to keep helping the Luminoth to restore their planet. A few weeks later, the Pirates launched an all-out assault on the Federation, and they issued a radio-silence to avoid drawing attention to the still vulnerable world. The crew was told to stay on ground and wait for a Federation ship, unless the Pirates arrived. 

That was fourteen months ago, and Patrick’s ship was the first one to arrive in the system since the radio-silence was ordered. 

The troopers on the planet were most likely very angry to be left alone for so long, and the Luminoth were probably not happy with the situation either. Luckily mayor Reeve had assured Patrick that a new ship was being prepared to take place of the old one. Now he had to just explain the situation and pray to avoid the troopers’ ire. 

The ship’s computer received a message. Patrick now had permission to land. The message also contained the coordinates to the landing site (Aether didn’t have an official space port). Patrick set the autopilot to slowly approach the landing site, and went to the cargo hold to check his supplies one last time. 

Patrick landed on the Temple Grounds. Almost all Luminoth lived under or near the Great Temple, so that was where the Federation troopers also spent their time. It was important to first get everyone at least some kind of place to live before anybody tried to fix the rest of the planet. The landing ramp scared away a bunch of white, four-legged bugs (Patrick would later find out that they were called Splinters). 

As he walked down the ramp, someone walked towards him. He had captain’s insignia on his shoulder. ‘That must be captain Wilhelm Denys, commander of the troopers stationed here’, Patrick thought. Captain Denys’ mouth was smiling, but his eyes were almost glowing with rage. 

A Splinter

“Good day”, Patrick said and offered his hand. Denys took it and said: “Good day. Nice to see that the Federation bothers to remember us”. He was very upset, but it seemed that he was more concerned about his men’s well-being than his own. Patrick had to try to defuse the situation. “I can explain…” “FOURTEEN MONTHS!” the captain shouted. 

“WE’VE BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST A YEAR MORE THAN WE WERE SUPPOSED TO! WE’VE BEEN OUT OF SUPPLIES FOR NINE MONTHS! THE ONLY REASON WE ARE ALIVE AND WELL IS BECAUSE THE LUMINOTH HAVE WASTED A TON OF THEIR OWN FOOD AND MEDICINE ON US!” “And I had nothing to do with that. I’m not part of the military”, Patrick said. 

“Would you like to know why your colonel hasn’t done anything about your situation?” Patrick said. “Well how about you tell me!” Denys said and took a step back. “He was killed by the pirates over a year ago”. The captain’s eyes widened. “He’s... dead? I can’t believe…” he muttered. “How bad was the war?” he asked with a louder voice. 

“Not that bad. We didn’t have many civilian casualties. But we lost many ships and soldiers, especially during the attack that destroyed Phaaze”. “What’s Phaaze?” Denys asked “A Pirate capital ship?” “Phaaze was an entire planet made of Phazon. It was the source of the Leviathans”.

Denys was astonished. “You mean that we had to actually destroy an entire planet to end the war? Wow. I thought that the war was just a big Pirate raid”. “We also managed to take over their homeworld, so the Pirates shouldn’t be able to do much for a while”. Denys sighed and said: “Unbelievable. Other troopers managed to take over an entire planet and destroy another one while we were stuck here”.

Patrick changed the subject. “But that’s in the past, right? You’ll be able to leave in a few weeks at most, and now that the radio silence is removed, you all can call your families and friends…” “Oh, right!” Denys said: “I should inform everyone about that right now –” “ “… and I also brought some pizza to you”, Patrick finished. 

Denys stood silent. “Pizza?” he asked. “I can’t remember when I last ate pizza”. “I’ve got plenty. I’m sure others would like some too. I’ll help carrying them” Patrick said. Denys smiled. “Thanks. Nobody has had tasty food in months. The Luminoth food is quick and easy to grow as well as nutrious, but it tastes like paper or sand. They can’t yet focus on luxuries like taste”.

He paused for a while and finished: “We need to let them have some pizza too”. They started going inside Patrick’s ship. “Oh yeah, I hadn’t thought about that”. Patrick said. “When I get home,” Denys said “I’d really like to eat a really spicy taco,” he daydreamed. 

Once they had picked up the pizzas, Patrick said: “I also need to talk to the leader of the Luminoth. Could you arrange that?” “Shouldn’t be too difficult. You’re the first time the Federation has tried to contact him since we arrived. Especially after bringing all this food”. “Can you give any time or place?” Now they were back outside again. “Probably about two hours. Sentinel U-Mos lives at the very top of the Great Temple. That’s where you’ll meet him”.

### The Great Temple, planet Aether

Patrick stood in the elevator in the Controller Transport. There weren’t many people on Aether, so he didn’t need to wait long to meet the Sentinel. Patrick tried to admire the view from the small windows of the elevator. He couldn’t see much, as the windows were rather high, and only at the bottom and the top of the room. 

He could only see the sky and the very edge of the horizon, as the Great Temple was one of the highest points on the planet (the only place in the area that could rival it was the Aerie of Sanctuary Fortress). The elevator soon reached the top, and Patrick could enter the Main Energy Controller room. 

To Patrick’s surprise, the room had no roof. Fresh wind was gently blowing through the room. In the very center of the room laid the actual Main Energy Controller. The Light of Aether was shining inside it like a small, yellow sun. Three beams of the Light shone to the Controller from the other Energy Controllers of Aether. The rays of the Light felt warm and welcoming, and Patrick was felt like he too was full of energy. ‘This feels really good’, he thought. 

A Luminoth stood in front of the Controller. He was the Sentinel of the Luminoth, U-Mos. U-Mos was 220 cycles old, which was equivalent to about 73 standard years. He was the greatest warrior of the Luminoth, which might not sound much after almost all of them had died, but he had protected the Temple and his sleeping kin for years before the Ing were defeated. 

U-Mos, the fifth Sentinel of the Luminoth

“Welcome to our Great Temple. I am U-Mos, Sentinel of the Luminoth”, he said in a calm voice. “Pleased to meet you, U-Mos. My name is Patrick Garner”, Patrick said as he shook U-Mos’ hand. He was slightly intimidated, as U-Mos was not only roughly twice his size but also a powerful psionic. “I hope that you are going to let your troopers leave soon”, U-Mos said, “as they have been homesick for quite some time”. 

“The Federation is already taking care of that, you should expect more ships soon”, Patrick said. “But I’m not here for that. I’m here to find out what you need to fix your planet”. U-Mos twitched slightly. “You’ve already done much for us… We can’t even properly repay for that, let alone any more help. We must be able to survive without constant aid from the Federation”.

“We’re not going to give you constant help, just enough to get your society and planet pack to their feet. And I’m sure that sooner or later a catastrophe will hit some planet. You could pay your debt then. That’s what the Federation does: well-off worlds help less fortunate ones”. U-Mos stood silent for a while. “In that case… If we can wait until the right time comes… we could use your help in many places”.

He closed his eyes, thinking what to say. “Our Great Temple and the Grounds around it are fine”, he said and opened his eyes, “but other regions are in need of help. Our old home, the Sanctuary Fortress, is still overrun by our war machines that now consider all life hostile”. Patrick folded his arms and said; “So, military aid. Why haven’t the troopers already dealt with them? They don’t tend to leave threats free to come and go as they please”.

U-Mos looked north, at the wall opposite the door to the room. Patrick looked to the same direction, but saw nothing but sky from the small windows. “The machines are no threat to us. They will not leave the Sanctuary. But while that place has great sentimental value to us, we have enough space near the Temple for a long time”.

He looked back to Patrick. “The region of Agon is far more important. It used to be a fertile land, but after the ocean flooded Torvus, it stopped raining, and Agon dried into a desert. We used to grow our food there, but now…” He took a deep, sad breath. Patrick said: “You sound like you would need some desert plants and farming equipment. I’d like to discuss details with a farmer, if you have one”.

“That would be K-Ror. He lives in the Wastes. The elevator to the area is southwest from here. But to really mend Agon, we must bring the rain back. And that can be done by fixing Torvus. The Torvus Bog absorbs all the rain that used to irrigate Agon. If we could dry Torvus, Agon would slowly but surely follow, but I just can’t see a way to move so much water”.

Patrick watched as a swarm of small butterflies danced around one of the energy beams and thought. He soon replied: “If Torvus was flooded by an ocean, then all we need to do is to rebuild the shore. After Torvus stops getting extra water from the ocean, it should return to normal. If it doesn’t, we would need to warm the area, but that shouldn’t be difficult with the Light of Aether, right?” U-Mos stared at him. “Can it really be that simple?” He let out a disappointed sigh. “That shows just how much we have lost over the years, doesn’t it?”

Patrick realized something: ‘U-Mos has been a warrior for almost his whole life. He isn’t used to peace and has trouble building anything’. Suddenly U-Mos looked away, as if he was ashamed of something. He quickly turned back and asked: “Was that all?” “Yes. Construction materials and builders for the shore as well as desert farming equipment for K-Ror”.

Patrick stood up and U-Mos followed. “I should probably go talk to him next”. They shook hands. “I hope we can restore your planet”, Patrick said. U-Mos responded: “May the Light of Aether shine upon you”. As Patrick entered the elevator, he could finish his thoughts: ‘And U-Mos is most likely aware of all of this, he is a psionic after all. I should watch what I think near him just in case’. 

### The Agon Wastes, planet Aether

The warm, dry air hit Patrick’s face again as he exited the Agon Temple. He had forgotten to ask where exactly K-Ror lived, so he went to meet the Agon Temple Sentinel, who had told him where K-Ror’s farm was. Agon was much cooler than Patrick had expected. The temperature was exactly like a hot summer day back home, not like an oven. 

But the Wastes were dry, and full of sand. Some of said sand had already found its way into Patrick’s clothes, mouth, nose and eyes. He had started to feel a bit ill, but it was nothing a shower and a big drink couldn’t mend. Those would be the first things he’d do after returning to his ship. 

Agon Temple

Soon, Patrick walked out of the cave that connected the Temple to the lower plains. Or at least it used to be a cave: some parts of the wall were broken, and one could easily see outside. Maybe it was now just a mountain side. Whether the tunnel was correctly named was of little concern to anyone for now. 

Patrick could see a small hut, some plants in neat lines and a windmill. A Luminoth was sitting next to the windmill, tinkering with it. ‘That must be K-Ror’, Patrick thought. ‘The windmill must be broken. It stays still, despite the arid wind’. He approached him and said: “Greetings. You must be K-Ror, right?” The Luminoth was surprised, and turned to look at Patrick. “Yes. I don’t think we’ve met before”, he said as he stood up. 

“You are a new trooper, aren’t you?” he asked. “No, I’m here to find out what problems your planet still has and how to fix them fast and cheap. My name is Patrick”. K-Ror asked: “Couldn’t planets just tell the Federation what they need?” “People rarely find the best solutions alone, especially if they are busy. And in times like this, we can only give people what they need. Maybe in a few years, things will change”. K-Ror stretched his arms. “Well, let’s head inside then. I need a break from this” he said and pointed at the windmill. 

K-Ror’s home was rather boring, just a bed, a table with a couple chairs and some cooking equipment. He kept everything related to farming inside a nearby storage hut. The house did have a few wall decorations, but Patrick didn’t know whether they had a meaning or did they just look pretty. K-Ror filled two mugs with cool, clean water and gave one to Patrick. 

They sat down, and K-Ror drank most of his water right away. “Where did you get that windmill?” Patrick asked. “It doesn’t look like something the Luminoth would build”. “The troopers recovered it from the Pirate Base. It got damaged in a firefight”, K-Ror answered “I’ve had it for a while now, but I haven’t had time to repair it until recently”. “Wouldn’t solar panels be better? You live in a desert”. K-Ror sat silently for a while. “Well… Solar panels tend to need a sun to work”.

Patrick felt stupid. “Yeah… Of course”. K-Ror smiled. “People who weren’t born on a rogue planet tend to assume that all planets have a sun. And to be fair, I’m quite sure that Aether is the only rogue planet that’s not a ball of ice”. He shifted his weight slightly. “Power is not an issue, not yet at least. I’m more worried about water. I doubt you can make it rain or place a fountain nearby”. “Do you have a source of water?” Patrick asked. “I do, but it’s very small. I can’t get enough water for all plants, the dry air absorbs a large part of it”.

Patrick thought for a while. “How do you wet your plants?” he then asked. K-Ror stared at him. “With a hose”. He looked unsure. “What else could I use?” “It sounds like you need drip irrigation”, Patrick said. K-Ror leaned forward. “What’s that?” “Basically it’s a pipe that pumps water directly to the plant’s roots. The plant gets the same amount of water it would get from a hose, but almost no water goes waste, so less of it is needed”.

K-Ror’s face brightened. “That’s just what I need! Could you really get that for me?” “Well,” Patrick said slowly “those are rather expensive”. K-Ror’s antennae bended downwards, and his gaze fell. “But a manual version for a small farm is easy to get”. K-Ror looked back at Patrick, and his antennae straightened again. “I’m not afraid of manual labor. I’m ready to work hard if it saves water”.

He took a deep breath. “I’d also need some seeds. We didn’t have many seeds, and I can’t get much food if I need to grow my stock”. He paused for a while. “And the plants must be edible. By the Luminoth. I found some bright, blue plants near the Pirate base. The troopers called them Blueroot trees, and said that they were poisonous. I asked why the Pirates would plant poisonous plants, and they explained the Pirates were one of the few species that can eat them”. He sighed. “What a shame. They grow so well, and they look pretty, too”.

Patrick said: “Desert plants aren’t common, but this just makes them popular on arid worlds. Getting seeds for a farm of this size won’t be an issue. I just need to make sure that they use different nutrients, so you can farm without using lots of fertilizers”. “Of course”, K-Ror said quickly. “That’s important too”.

Patrick sat silently for a while. “For a farmer, you seem to know little about taking care of plants”. K-Ror nodded. “I’m used to taking care of people, not plants. I was a healer”. He gazed past Patrick, towards his bed. “During the war”. “Why did you start farming?” Patrick asked. “Because we don’t need as much healers as we did back then. People don’t get hurt as much… or as badly. Thankfully. One healer and her apprentice is enough to take care of everyone. I started farming mostly because of what happened to my sister”. “The Ing killed her?” Patrick asked. How was farming related to that? 

K-Ror’s eyes snapped back at Patrick. “No”, he said with a hurt voice. “She was guarding the Path of Honor. The Ing had cut that area off. We couldn’t get any supplies there”. His head fell. He spoke with a silent voice. “She starved to death. She died standing. She was so brave…” Patrick was horrified. “I’m sorry about your loss. I apologize for bringing it up”. K-Ror couldn’t face Patrick, preferring to stare at his empty bed again. “It’s not your fault. I don’t blame you. I’ll be fine”.

He wiped his eyes. “So… Enough about the past. I’d need good seeds and that drip irrigation system”. Patrick stood up. “Doesn’t sound too bad, at least compared to what U-Mos asked”. K-Ror stood up as well. “What did he need? Something for all of us?” Patrick nodded. “Yes. He wanted to move the rain from Torvus to here”. K-Ror paused for a while and then said: “Well, that would certainly be helpful. But it must be nice to have something you can achieve in a reasonable time too”. Patrick chuckled. “It is”.

As Patrick turned to leave, he happened to notice something in the corner of his eye: a blood-red glow, originating from under K-Ror’s bed. “What’s that?” he asked and kneeled to take a look. There was a black, four-legged and one-eyed creature hiding under the bed. K-Ror quickly stepped from behind the table and said: “It’s a…” “…splinter”, Patrick finished. 

The splinter retreated back to the wall. “Yes, a splinter”, K-Ror confirmed. “Is he your pet?” Patrick asked. “Yes, he is my pet”, K-Ror said with an emotionless voice. “I saw some of those in the Temple Grounds, but they were white with blue eyes. Is this some kind of desert-dwelling subspecies?”

K-Ror stared at his feet, and finally spoke silently: “It’s a dark splinter”. Patrick asked another question: “It’s called that because it has a dark exoskeleton, right?” K-Ror’s answer was angry: “It’s called that”, he raised his head, “because inside of it is an Ing that controls it”.

A Dark Splinter

Patrick backed off from the bed. “Weren’t the Ing supposed to be extinct? Weren’t they supposed to be your enemies?” K-Ror walked quickly to Patrick and grabbed his shoulders. “H-He won’t hurt anyone”. His voice was filled with terror and despair. “He gave me his word… You… You can’t tell anyone that he’s here… Nobody would understand… I’m not asking that you u-understand either just… p-promise me that you won’t talk about this”.

Patrick looked at the splinter. The Ing was clearly afraid of Patrick. He then looked back at K-Ror. “You have my word. I won’t speak about this”. K-Ror’s hands fall to his sides and he let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you. This is… very important to me”. “I have no strong feelings about the Ing. They didn’t attack my people”. K-Ror smiled. “Right… Goodbye, Patrick”. “Goodbye, K-Ror!” Patrick said. He turned around and started his journey back to his spaceship. 

### Planet Bryyo, a few days later

‘Home sweet home… well, almost’, Patrick thought as he exited FTL. ‘Finally, a chance to see Bryyo up close!’  Bryyo was a devastated world: a massive crater covered its surface like a wound. Even after all these years, debris from the apocalyptic war still floated in space. Two tendrils-like objects stretched from the red planet, a side-effect of the force that sustained the few habitable areas of the red planet. 

Planet Bryyo

‘There can’t be many locals alive anymore… How can I find a handful of inhabitants? They could be anywhere!’  Patrick decided to read again everything he had been given about Bryyo. While Bryyo’s history was important, the places the pictures were found proved to be far more interesting. 

All pictures were found rather close one another, except the last one. The final picture was found from the other side of the planet! If it was also the last one painted, it was likely that the Prophetess that had painted them was still living nearby. The coldside would be an excellent place to hide from the local creatures that preferred hot environments. ‘I should start scanning the place where the picture was found and try to locate any thermal anomalies. It’s not much, but I can’t think of a better way of finding anyone’. Patrick thought. He started flying towards Bryyo’s coldside.


	3. Happy times

### Background music: [Tallon Overworld (Theme 2) ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6Ky2BMVWfs)  
  
Planet Bryyo, many years ago 

Owanl B-Shar was hiding in a bush. She was carrying a throwing chakram in her right hands and a knife in her lower left hand. She was watching a pack of hoppers that were drinking from a nearby pond. Owanl’s friend, Skaan Gslyss was slowly creeping to the other side of the hopper pack. Together they could catch all of them! It didn’t take long for Skaan to reach the right spot. 

After making sure that Owanl was ready too, Skaan jumped out of his bush and threw his chakram at the closest of the four hoppers. The unlucky hopper was shocked by the chakram’s magic and hell to the ground, dazed. The remaining hoppers started fleeing – right at Owanl. Owanl threw her chakram with all her might and managed to hit the hopper closest to her. The remaining hoppers were startled again and tried to flee – now towards Skaan. He had already stabbed the first hopper to death. 

This time, the hoppers weren’t content with just fleeing. They spat their poison towards Skaan. Skaan was ready for it, and stepped out of the way and threw his chakram at one of the attackers. He then rushed to kill it. The last hopper decided to try its luck with Owanl. She jumped out of the poison’s way and threw her weapon at it. She hit the ground slightly before the chakram knocked out the hopper.

A Hopper 

Owanl caught her chakram as she stood up. By this time, the first hopper she had hit was starting to recover. She finished it, and then walked to the last hopper and ended it as well. Both of the Reptilicus let out a victory cry. All prey was caught!

Soon, they had a nice campfire burning (Owanl was carrying some magic powder that made lighting fires easy), and the smell of cooked meat filled the shore. Both of them had decided to eat one hopper and save one for later. “Good plan, Owanl!” Skaan said as they were eating. “Owanl and Skaan catch all hoppers!” Owanl smiled and responded: “Owanl hear tribe’s hunters hunt like that. Hunters teach Skaan and Owanl well”. 

Skaan finished his hopper and said enthusiastically: “One day Skaan lead hunters. Skaan promise Skaan remember what others say. What Owanl say”. Of course he would sometimes lead the tribe’s hunters. After all, his father was the chieftain of the tribe. Skaan stood up and offered his hands to Owanl. She took them, and he pulled her up. They doused the fire with some water from the pond and headed back to their villge. 

Owanl and Skaan had sneaked out of the village. They weren’t allowed to leave without adults, as all kinds of dangerous creatures lurked in the forests of Bryyo. But hunting was far more exciting than doing chores in the village, even if they prey was something as easy to catch as hoppers. Besides, freshly-cooked, self-caught meat was far better than anything in the camp. And meat wasn’t the only tasty thing in the woods: Owanl noticed a large fruit. “Fruit!” she shouted and rushed to pick it up. Those fruits were the best thing she knew: so sweet, juicy, and filling. It would make the perfect snack before bedtime. 

Unfortunately, their little trip hadn’t gone unnoticed: two Reptilicus were waiting for them when they reached the village, and their faces made it clear that they weren’t happy about their little expedition. One of them was Amtti Gslyss, Skaan’s father and the leader of the tribe.

“Skaan Gslyss”, he said, all arms folded. Skaan couldn’t look at him. “Skaan sneak out again. Skaan must learn to hunt, not like this”. Skaan tried to explain: “Dad, Skaan–” Amtti interrupted: “Skaan come tent. Amtti and Skaan talk”, empathizing the last word. Skaan looked helpless as he followed his father to their tent. He looked to Owanl for support.

Owanl couldn’t pay any attention to Skaan, as she had problems of her own: the other Reptilicus was Hixxn B-Shar, Owanl’s grandmother. “Hunting not for Owanl. Why?” she asked, sounding aggravated. Owanl answered silently: “Owanl prophetess…” Just like her father and her grandmother, she was far too important to risk on a hunt. The gifts of magic and sight pass from parent to child, and unfortunately, Owanl and Hixxn were the last seers of their tribe.

The Primal prophets and prophetesses have many jobs: they advise their tribe’s chieftains (making right decisions is much simpler if one knows the future), tend the ill and the wounded, record and recite history and perform the necessary rituals. A tribe without one would quickly fall to other tribes. Usually, when the old prophet dies, one of their children takes their place. But Owanl’s father was already gone.

Shortly before Owanl was born, her father had had a vision: a volcano to the night of their village would erupt, burning the land unless someone would find a way to calm it. He had embarked on a quest to prevent the devastation. Soon after, the volcano started smoking. After a while, the mountain calmed, and to this day, it has remained inactive.

Owanl’s father never returned from his journey.

Owanl’s mother raised her during her childhood years, but she perished on a hunt to a Fargul Hatcher. Luckily, by that time she was old enough to begin learning magic from Hixxn. Of course, all other adults of the tribe had taught something to Owanl. Because Hixxn was the oldest member of their tribe, she would soon join their ancestors, leaving all her responsibilities to Owanl. Owanl would have to stay safe, as without her, their tribe would surely be lost.

In other words, Owanl had only a few years of relative freedom until it was her turn to do important work for the tribe. As she could spend the rest of her life being old and wise, she wanted to spend as much time while she was still young having fun, stupid or otherwise, as possible.

Hixxn knew all this. She had been young once too. She smiled and said: “Owanl away long time. Owanl rest now”. Her face sobered. “When Owanl wake, Owanl get much more work. Not go hunt again”. Owanl sighed. “Yes, grandma”. Hixxn waved her hand. “Sleep well, Owanl. Bye!” She turned around to leave and take care of her responsibilities. “Bye grandma!” Owanl said and headed to her tent.

Inside her tent, Owanl took off her knife and her chakram. She sat down on her bed and put her bag on the ground at her feet. She stretched a bit and yawned. She had walked a lot. After stretching, Owanl opened her bag and took the fruit out. She sniffed it. It smelled freshly picked. ‘Worth all scolding!’ she thought and started eating.

After finishing the fruit, Owanl felt full and completely refreshed. She also started to feel sleepy from all the walking and hunting she had done. She lay down on her bed and stared the walls of her home. What would Hixxn want her to do after she woke up? ‘Hixxn want Owanl make fire powder. Tribe always needs more’. At least Owanl herself had enough for many ignitions. Soon her eyes closed and she fell to sleep.

Suddenly, a burst of energy filled Owanl’s body. It felt like a stream of lightning. Her body remained asleep, but her mind was completely awake. ‘Prophecy!’  Owanl thought. This was not the first time she had seen a vision of the future. Now she had to focus and pay attention: nothing good would follow if she forgot something or misinterpreted the dream.

Owanl saw…

Her own tent, viewed from the top. Only one thing was different: she couldn’t see herself sleeping in the bed. She rose: now she was looking at the tent from the outside. Soon, she saw her entire village. Owanl kept rising. First she could see her tribes most used hunting grounds, then the areas where other tribes hunted. She was above clouds. The details on the ground started to blur. Desert stared to enter her view on one side. On the other, she could see something white. Finally, Owanl saw Bryyo in all of its glory, a spark of life in midst of vast space.

Something new entered the scene: a glowing, blue star had started to grow. No, not grow: approach. It looked a bit like the holy venom that flowed on Bryyo, but if Bryyo’s venom was light, this star was darkness. And it was heading straight towards Bryyo. Owanl didn’t want it to touch her home. She hoped something would happen: that Bryyo would move away, that something would get in the star’s way, that their ancient friends would forgive them and give help.

But no such thing happened. Owanl could only watch in horror as the star hit Bryyo and tore it asunder. The lifeless rocks that had once been Bryyo first glowed red-hot, then they cooled into a dull, gray color as they floated away from each other. Then, they turned slowly into that same malevolent blue that the star used to be. The pieces of Bryyo would continue to fly to other planets, endlessly repeating the cycle, and Bryyo itself would be nothing more than a forgotten memory.

[ ](http://s1347.photobucket.com/user/Superpossu/media/planetary_destruction_zpsdpbb3dvw.jpg.html)

End of Bryyo

Suddenly, all movement stopped. The pieces of Bryyo started to fly back together. They changed from blue, to grey, to red and joined together. Bryyo was whole once more, and the horrible star retreated back to the nothingness of space. Then, Owanl’s view started to descend back to Bryyo. But not back to her village: she was now watching a peculiar building, far to the day of her village. Inside the building, she could see herself… and a monster straight from her worst nightmares. Owanl watched as the Owanl in the vision woke up the beast. The horror and vision-Owanl moved to the desert. The star was clearly visible in the sky. The terrible figure gave Owanl something. She threw it to the sky, and after a while, the star shattered and the pieces vanished.

“Prophecy”

Owanl’s view started retreating. Through a vast desert, by a huge mountain, across a flat savannah, by a small pond, along a slightly meandering river, through her tribe’s camp and through her own tent, into her own bed –

Owanl’s eyes flew open and she jumped out of her bed. She was breathing heavily and her entire body was trembling. Her heart hammered her chest as she picked up a plank and her paintbrush and paints. She started painting her vision. ‘Owanl paint fast now, before forget. Prophecy scary and important’.

Even though Owanl’s hands were shaking, she managed to paint all important details about her prophecy. When she was done, she held the painting in front of her and stared it while trying to calm her breathing. ‘Death drops from stars. Kill all. Kill Bryyo’, she thought. But the more important part was more complex: ‘Can stop if follow dream’. Owanl could feel how terror gripped her stomach. ‘Owanl must tell the last Lord of Science’.

The last Lord of Science. The most powerful and evil Reptilicus that had ever lived. He was an ancient horror powered by wicked, blasphemous magic. Luckily for all Bryyo, he lived in the scorching desert to the day of Bryyo’s habitable area. Only he was powerful enough to stop the impending doom. And now Owanl had to find him, and somehow both survive the trip through the sun-seared land and convince him that he had to help everyone. At least she knew the way there.

Owanl tied the painting to her bag. The cooked hopper was still there, and she had more than enough water to last to the river, where she could get as much as she could carry. ‘Owanl just like dad’, she thought. It brought her comfort… even if her father had never returned. Thinking of her father reminded her about her pendant. Owanl’s mother had given it to her when she was young. Her parents had made it for her. Apparently, Owanl’s father had tried to enchant it, but either the enchantment was very well hidden or worn off over the years, as Owanl had never managed to find any magic in it.

She was looking for her staff when someone entered the tent. Owanl turned to face the guest. It was  
Skaan. “Skaan! Why Skaan here?” Owanl asked. “Dad out of talk. Very angry, want Skaan do lot. Skaan ask Owanl help. Skaan help Owanl do Owanl’s chores later”. Skaan clearly sounded like he was looking towards to doing their chores together. Any other time, Owanl would have jumped at the opportunity, but now… “Owanl not help. Owanl had vision”. Skaan’s eyes widened. He said enthusiastically: “What Owanl saw?”

Owanl took a deep breath. “Owanl saw Bryyo die”. Fear gnawed her stomach again. “O-Owanl must tell… the last Lord of Science”. Skaan was horrified. “Owanl not leave! Owanl not seek the last Lord of Science! Skaan sure Hixxn and Owanl find other way save Bryyo!” Owanl was still looking for her staff. “No, Skaan. Vision clear. Owanl go or Bryyo die”. Skaan pulled out his knife. Pain shone from his eyes. “Owanl not go… Skaan not let Owanl hurt tribe!” He raised his knife.

“Skaan!” Owanl shouted. She was about to cry. “Owanl not want go! But Owanl must! Like dad!” She couldn’t move, she had to calm herself first. Why couldn’t he understand? “Skaan not kill Owanl” was the only warning she got as Skaan jumped towards her.

Owanl managed to stop Skaan’s arms, but he was moving too fast. Owanl fell to the ground. She managed to prevent her head from hitting the ground, but her tail took almost the full force of the impact. Skaan fell on top of her, his knife hovering just above her left shoulder. Skaan’s face was filled with sorrow and rage. His eyes were covered in tears. Their arms were in a complete lock, but sooner or later Owanl’s strength would fade.

But not that soon. She felt something touch her right foot. It was Skaan’s tail! Owanl slammed her left foot to her right with all of her might. Skaan let out a pained grunt and faltered. Owanl could now push Skaan’s knife away from herself. This caused Skaan to lose his balance, and Owanl pushed him aside, using her tail and right leg more than her hands.

Now Skaan was on his back, and Owanl used her momentum to slam her body on him. Skaan shouted in pain. Owanl punched his muzzle and continued her roll. Once she was on the ground again, she scrambled to get back to her feet.

As she got up, a terrible feeling filled her chest. Something was wrong. Skaan was not trying to get up. Owanl turned around and looked at Skaan. He was holding his lower left fist at his side, slightly below his ribcage. Then, Owanl noticed a pommel peeking out of his fist.

By rolling onto Skaan, Owanl had also accidently pushed his knife into his side.

Owanl was horrified. “S… Skaan…” she said. Her mouth refused to make any more words. Skaan rolled to his stomach and started to get up. “Owanl say Owanl help… tribe…” he said and pulled out his knife. He screamed in pain as the knife ripped his flesh and made the wound larger. The blade was covered in blood, and more blood drippled from the wound. “The last… Lord of Science…” he paused to breathe. His entire being was filled with rage. Where was this rage coming from? “…make Owanl tell… village…” He lunged at Owanl again.

But this time, Owanl was ready and Skaan was wounded. Owanl could stop him and remain standing. Skaan was trembling violently. His strength was gone: Owanl only needed three of her arms to stop all of his. She could press the knife’s hilt almost into Skaan’s face. “Drop knife”, Owanl said. As Skaan showed no sign of complying, Owanl punched his wound with her free fist. “Drop knife!” she shouted as Skaan cried in pain. “Drop knife! Drop knife! Drop knife!” she begged as she kept punching Skaan. Finally Skaan’s fingers stopped working and he dropped his knife.

Owanl stepped on the knife and let him go. Skaan fell on his intact side. He curled up, crying weakly. He whispered: “Owanl promise… not get caught… tell vision fast… return…” He had trouble breathing. Owanl walked to her bed and wiped her hand on her blanket. She then folded the blanket and brought it and her pillow to Skaan. She placed the pillow under Skaan’s head and the blanket on his wound. “Owanl promise Owanl careful. Owanl not harm tribe”. She swallowed and hoped she didn’t lie when she said: “Owanl return safe. Press”. Owanl placed two of Skaan’s hands on the blanket.

Now she finally saw where her staff was: it had rolled under her bed. She took it and stood up. She also remembered to take all of her fire powder with her. She was ready to leave, but she just couldn’t leave Skaan like that. She’d have to tell her grandmother… but she couldn’t risk her knowing that she had to leave.

Owanl felt numb as she ran to Hixxn’s tent. She dropped all of her bearings outside and rushed in. Hixxn was startled by her sudden entrance. “Owanl! Why Owanl here? Owanl go bed!” she said, but then she noticed that Owanl was in distress. She became worried and asked: “What wrong?” Owanl lied: “Bad spirit go into Skaan! Make Skaan say bad things and attack Owanl!”

Good thing that Owanl really was in shock. It made her lies much more convincing. “O-Owanl had to hurt Skaan… Owanl not know… heal Skaan… ” She started to cry. Her tears were genuine. Hixxn rushed to the table and started picking healing items. “Where?” she shouted. “Owanl’s tent…” Owanl managed to say.

Hixxn handed Owanl a cup of water. “Owanl calm now. Then get to Hixxn”. Hixxn ran outside. Owanl drank her cup and placed it back to the table. She went outside and picked up her stuff. She calmly walked through the village. Nobody paid any particular attention to her. Once she got outside of everyone’s sight, Owanl started running towards day.

### The Great Temple, planet Aether, shortly after destruction of Dark Aether

The war was finally over. The remaining Luminoth were safe. For the first time in a very long time, U-Mos could relax.

But not for that long. While the Ing were now defeated and all of the Light of Aether was back in its rightful place, the rest of Aether was in a much worse condition. Agon was still burned into a desert, and now there was also a Space Pirate base. It could contain something that could really help his people… but it could also be filled with traps and defenses. Would going there be worth the risk? Would there be anything that still worked, for better or for worse?

Torvus was, of course, still flooded. Many kinds of dangerous beasts and plants lived there. The Hydrodynamo Station was most likely broken down completely. At least that wasn’t a problem right now, as the Luminoth were simply so few in number that the Light of Aether could fill all of their energy needs. The Station could wait for a long time…

Then there was the Sanctuary, the former home of most of the Luminoth. Everyone who had lived there was most likely still homesick, and eager to get back… unfortunately the war machines inside would cut them down without hesitation. Luckily, this problem would go away on its own. Without maintenance, the machines would eventually break, just like all other Luminoth-made machines all over Aether had. All they had to do was to wait.

The rest of Aether was in just as bad shape as those places were. The only real exception was the Great Temple and its Grounds. U-Mos, however, wasn’t all that worried about his homeworld. Without the constant battles, Aether would surely start to heal itself. He was most worried about something that wouldn’t: his people.

The Luminoth were few in number. They all looked so… battered and exhausted. Thanks to their sleep, the more active part of the war felt like it had took place a short time ago for them. Everyone had lost so many. Some corpses were still lying around all over Aether. They simply hadn’t had an opportunity to deal with them. Now they did, and the grieving families and friends could finally reach a conclusion.

But the survivors couldn’t keep looking into the past. The past was gone, and nothing could change it. The only thing they could change was the future. It was time to rebuild everything. The Luminoth of the past had built everything on Aether when they had arrived. U-Mos reminded everyone about that and said that there was no reason that they couldn’t do the same.

The only good thing about their low numbers was that everyone could fit inside the Great Temple. That’s where everyone would live, at least for starters. The Temple offered great protection against the wildlife of Aether, and since the Main Energy Controller was there as well, all Luminoth could easily enjoy the Light of Aether.

The Light of Aether was, once again, their salvation. A part of the Light was made of bioenergy. Any living creature could absorb it and use it instead of food. That’s how U-Mos had survived so long completely alone. By absorbing the Light, the Luminoth (or any other creature, for the matter) could survive a long time without any food.

But not for a limitless amount of time. The Light could provide all the energy a living being could need, but not any nutrients or fibers. Without any food, they would, over time, slowly perish. They would need water as well. U-Mos could pull a bit of water from the air with his psionic powers, but that was barely the amount he personally needed. Getting enough water for just two Luminoth was too much for him.

Food and water were their first needs to fulfill. The first thing U-Mos did was to lead a raid party to loot the landed Federation patrol ship, G.F.S. Tyr. They scavenged the ship for anything they could use: food, water, weapons, entertainment (psychological wellbeing is also important). Stealing from the Federation stung U-Mos a bit, but his people came first. He would give the Federation something in return when his people weren’t in a constant risk of death.

Now that his warriors were better armed, U-Mos lead his party through the rest of the areas the Federation’s troopers had visited. Those trips didn’t yield as much food and medicine as U-Mos had hoped, but they did pick up a few other interesting items, namely computers, antennae and turrets. All of them were broken, but there could be enough salvageable parts to build at least some functional ones.

Their next destination was Torvus Bog. U-Mos didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks, so they remained close to the elevator. Thankfully Torvus was filled with edible plants, and most of them didn’t even fight back. The plants gave them seeds in addition to food. U-Mos wanted to get at least some kind of farms started so that feeding his people wouldn’t be so dangerous. He hoped that the plants would grow in the Temple Grounds, even if the air in Torvus was so much damper.

Meanwhile, the Luminoth who didn’t seek food were trying to make the Temple resemble a home. They crafted furniture and cooking equipment, for example. The more technologically savvy people were tinkering with the salvaged Federation equipment. Even one automated turret would be a great help in deterring the spread of the Splinter infestation.

The computers and antennae were even more important. With them, Aether could ask the galaxy for help. U-Mos would be happy for any kind of help. He also wanted to tell the Federation that they were free to take back their dead. Aether had enough corpses even without them. At some point, the dead Luminoth would have to be dealt with, but right now, the needs of the living outweighed the needs of the dead.

The communications equipment had another purpose as well: they could be used to simply tune in and listen to anything that was going on in outer space. Whoever was using the equipment would, of course, try to stay away from classified military channels, but listening to various entertainment programs would provide a much-needed respite to them. It would also hopefully distract the children from the bleakness of their current situation.

At the same time, U-Mos had given their chief healer, A-Qar, a special mission: she was to check every Luminoth for any kinds of injuries and infections. If they had a problem of some kind, A-Qar would do her best to heal them. Of course, given the lack of any kind of more complex medicine and healing items, her ability to actually do anything was rather limited.

A-Qar was meeting her patients in Transport A Access room. The room had a small, remote area where she and whoever she was currently meeting could talk in peace. A couple of days after he had looted G.F.S. Tyr, U-Mos was standing in the room. A-Qar was currently talking with someone, but they were so silent that U-Mos couldn’t hear what they were saying.

It didn’t take long for the patient, D-Stz, to crawl out. U-Mos headed in. The area was rather small, with the energy recharge station taking a big part of the room. On the floor next to the entrance was a blanket, to make the floor slightly more comfortable to sit on. A-Qar was sitting slightly further away on another blanket.

She stood up when U-Mos entered. “Sentinel! Good day to you!” she said. She sounded cheerful, but also weary. “Good day to you too, A-Qar”, U-Mos said. “I take that everything has gone smoothly?” he asked. A-Qar nodded. “Yes. Everyone who went to stasis was healthy back then… well, physically at least. I could start to check the medicine you’ve scavenged a bit more thoroughly now. Then I could start mixing my own salves. No matter what happens, sooner or later someone will get themselves hurt”.

U-Mos nodded in satisfaction. “That’s good to hear. But there is one more person you need to check: me”. A-Qar was silent for a while. “All right… let’s start with physical examination”. She walked closer. “Do you have any injuries?” She blinked. “Recent ones, that is”, she added. U-Mos shook his head. “No, not recent ones. My force field has been immensely useful”.

“I still have to check everything, in case some injury has gone unnoted”. She stared giving U-Mos various simple exercises, which U-Mos completed without any issues. She also listened to his breathing and heartbeat for a bit and checked out other marks of illness. “Everything seems to be in order”, A-Qar said after examining everything. “You are physically healthy”.

“Let’s now go over your mental health. Sit or lay down on the blanket and we can begin”. U-Mos smiled faintly and sighed. This was the part he had been waiting for. He lay down on the blanket. It felt like this was the first time in so many cycles that he could just… relax. A-Qar sat on her own blanket. “So, what kind of issues do you have, Sentinel?” she asked.

“I have trouble sleeping”, U-Mos said. “And when did your troubles start?” A-Qar asked. “Shortly before you went to stasis. I can’t remember a more specific time”. A-Qar thought about her next question. “You have had trouble falling asleep for that long? You should already be so exhausted that you should fall asleep standing!”

“No, not exactly like that” U-Mos said. He continued: “First off, I wasn’t really sleeping while I was watching over you. It was… a bit lighter than sleep. The Light gave me strength, letting me stay on guard at all times. Not really very healthy, but given the circumstances, it was the right choice. And secondly, I can fall asleep just fine. It’s staying asleep that’s the problem”.

“Sounds like your body is still used to that lighter sleep”, A-Qar said. “It should go away over time. Normally I’d make something to help you sleep, but we have so little medical supplies”. She sighed. “I wish I could help you more, Sentinel”. “Wait, it’s because of that light sleep?” U-Mos said in surprise. “I was certain that it was because of the nightmares!”

A-Qar was silent for a while. “What nightmares?” she carefully asked. “There’s two types”, U-Mos said. “The details change every time, but their overall structure remains the same”. He sighed. A-Qar asked: “Could you… describe your nightmares to me?” “I can”, U-Mos said. He sat up on the blanket and started talking.

“The first kind of nightmare is about when I was younger. When I was just one of our warriors. I’m fighting the Ing with the other warriors. Places and warriors change every time I sleep. But every time… someone gets hurt. Badly. Often we kill all Ing there. I then rush to the wounded one. They tell me how much they are hurting, how scared they are. I try to tell them it’s okay, but then they start asking why I’m not helping them. I wake up when they die”.

Just as A-Qar was about to speak, U-Mos continued: “Sometimes, it’s me who gets hurt. An Ing then jumps on top of me and roars. The roar wakes me up”. There was a short silence, which A-Qar broke by asking: “And the other nightmare?” “In those, I’m in the Main Energy Controller, watching over everything. The Ing burst in, and I fight them all. But they just keep coming, and sooner or later I make a mistake and it ends just like the other ones do”.

U-Mos fell on the blanket. Talking about his nightmares made him feel so stressed, but now that it was over, he felt a bit relaxed. A-Qar was thinking what to say. “I’d say…” she said slowly, “…that your nightmares come from two different reasons. The first ones come from a feeling of guilt. You still blame yourself for their deaths”.

“But I am to blame, aren’t I?” U-Mos interrupted her. “If I had fought better, I could have saved them, right? And later on, after I became the Sentinel, I ordered people to fight, and most didn’t survive”. He couldn’t say anything after that. Tears filled his eyes. He looked to the ground. This was the first time he had told anyone what he felt.

“You didn’t start the war, Sentinel!” A-Qar said. “In any war, no matter how good the leaders are, some people will die, and I doubt anyone else could have leaded us better than you did”. She inhaled audibly. “And about those earlier fights, the other warriors could have fought better, too! You didn’t fight alone, so you can’t put all the blame on yourself!”

U-Mos looked at her. “Thank you, A-Qar”. The healer just smiled and said: “Sentinel, I feel that the only person blaming you for all those deaths is you. You should try to forgive yourself or just forget about it”. U-Mos sat up and smiled. “I’ll… give that a try, at least”. He then asked with a more serious voice: “And what about the second reason?”

“The ones where you fight in the Main Energy Controller room? That’s much simpler: you have spent so much time either fighting or preparing for a fight that your body is locked in a fight-or-flight –state. You are still, on some level, worried that the Ing are going to attack the Controller. The dreams are a way for your body to prepare you for that fight”.

U-Mos felt relieved. “So, all I have to do is to convince my body that the war is over?” he asked. A-Qar nodded slowly. “True, but it isn’t that simple”, she said. “Convincing a subconscious is a rather difficult and a time-consuming task. Usually, a psion will help the patient to heal much faster than usual. Unfortunately, the only Luminoth alive with enough psionic power and skill to do that… is you, Sentinel”.

“And I really can’t use my powers on myself”, U-Mos said. He sighed. A-Qar continued: “Fortunately, as a psion, you can control your subconscious much better than most people, so your body will return to a normal state notably faster than that of an average person. All you have to do is wait, and your nightmares should end on their own”.

She looked to the ground. “Normally, I’d give you something to help you sleep and to heal faster, but I simply don’t have anything left. I only have some painkillers and a few different things to help against infections. That’s it. I’m certain that the Federation carried just more of the same. If I just had some time and ingredients, I could start to make something”.

“I could ask our hunters to look for some medicinal plants the next time they’re going to Torvus”, U-Mos said. “But if I’m going to get better on my own, you should focus more on other people. People who can’t get better on their own”. A-Qar smiled faintly and looked at him. “Thank you, Sentinel. That would help a lot. Another thing that could help you is if you could talk to someone. Do you have someone who you could talk to?”

U-Mos shook his head. “No”, he said sadly, “my father died early in the war, and all of my close friends died slowly over time. I know every Luminoth still alive, but I’m not really close to any one of them”. “I’m sorry”, A-Qar said. U-Mos smiled faintly. “Talking with you has made me feel better”. “Thank you, Sentinel”, she said.

“I think that was it”, U-Mos said as he stood up. A-Qar stood up as well. “Yes, that should be it. If you need something – or if you just want someone to talk to – just tell me, and I’ll see what I can do”. She sighed contentedly. “Now everyone is checked, and we’re all fine, for the most part! I can finally start to go over those medical supplies you brought!”

“Not quite everyone”, U-Mos said. “One person still needs to be examined”. A-Qar gave him a puzzled look. “Didn’t you say that you’re the last person that needs to be examined when you came here?” she asked. U-Mos replied: “I said that you need to examine me. But the last person that needs to be checked is you, A-Qar. We can’t lose our best healer”.

A-Qar blinked a few times. “Y-You’re right, Sentinel”, she muttered. Her mandibles shivered a bit. U-Mos asked: “Do you want that I get one of the other healers here? Or do you want that I examine you with your guidance?” A-Qar looked down and after a short pause said: “I think it would be for the best if you would do it, Sentinel”.

“Well, then”, U-Mos said, “let’s switch places and begin!” They walked past each other on top of the blanket the other one had just used. “We’ll start with the physical test”, A-Qar said. She slowly made every move U-Mos had just made while telling him their purpose. U-Mos also listened to her breathing and heartbeat. He didn’t find anything unusual.

“Not really a big surprise, is it?” A-Qar said. “Healers don’t usually have as exciting lives as warriors do, right?” She smiled, but somehow she didn’t look happy. “Now it’s time to go over my mental health”. She sat down quickly. U-Mos sat down as well. A-Qar lay down on the blanket. “If you feel that you need to use your powers on me”, she said, “feel free to do so. I know that you won’t do anything bad, Sentinel”.

U-Mos wasn’t quite sure what to feel about that permission. It was good that he was allowed to do everything he could to help, but it was very rare to get a permission to prod into someone’s mind without asking for it. Outside of training, it meant something really bad more often than not. Few people liked getting their mind invaded.

“All right. I’ll keep that in mind”, he said. “You may start talking whenever you feel you are ready”. A-Qar took a couple deep breaths before she stated talking: “I have… invasive thoughts. Sometimes they turn into terrible nightmares. But often, they just arrive during my normal activities. I just can’t get rid of them on my own. I just have to wait until they’re gone”.

“Can you tell me what kinds of thoughts bother you?” U-Mos asked. A-Qar’s mandibles shivered again. “I… It’s often when I see other people. I remember… I tried to heal someone… someone close to them. And I… I failed… I lost my patient… And the person I saw looked so… devastated…” She covered her face. “When I sleep”, she continued, “it’s often someone who didn’t have anyone left to mourn them…” Her voice broke and she started crying.

U-Mos crawled next to her. She continued: “I – I couldn’t save them! People trusted me! I’m not good enough of a healer!” “A-Qar…”, U-Mos said slowly, “have you ever considered that the people who died were brought too late to you? That they would perish no matter how skilled you were?” This close he could feel her emotions. There was a lot of sadness, a lot a fear… and a lot of anger. They weren’t recent emotions. They had festered for cycles.

A-Qar revealed her face. She looked at U-Mos and said silently: “Of course I have. I’ve always dismissed it. I can’t just… become lazy or complacent. If I learned how to heal better… maybe I could save a few more people…” U-Mos gently put his hand on A-Qar’s cheek. He took a deep breath before he started talking.

“Wanting to help others is a good thing. And during the war, it was useful to push oneself to one’s limits. But no-one can keep doing that for a long time. Now that peace has returned to Aether, we can… take everything a bit easier. You can relax, too. I certainly hope that we get much less injuries now that the Ing are gone”.

“Thank you for your words, Sentinel”, A-Qar said. She closed her eyes. U-Mos recalled a memory: the Light of Aether returned to the Main Energy Controller, news of Dark Aether’s destruction, seeing his people again. He felt the joy he had felt then again, and then he let that joy to flow into A-Qar. She inhaled sharply and stiffened a bit, but she quickly relaxed and sighed.

U-Mos took his hand off and A-Qar sat back up. “That felt… really good… I feel better now…” she said silently. She then said with a louder voice: “Talking about this helped, too”. She chuckled. “I already knew that, but now I’ve felt it, too”. “Do you have anyone you can discuss these things with, A-Qar?” U-Mos asked, just like A-Qar had asked earlier.

A-Qar shook her head. “No. I’m our oldest healer, even if I’m only 207. Everyone counts on me to take care of them. I can’t just tell all of my own issues to them. They’re the ones seeking help!” “Do you have any family left?” U-Mos asked. A-Qar shook her head. U-Mos didn’t want to inquire any further.

But he was ready to help any of his people, and that included A-Qar. He said: “You offered to listen to me, if I ever need to talk about something that bothers me. I offer to do the same to you. If you need to talk more about this – or anything else, for that matter – I’ll do my best to find some time for you. I expect that all Luminoth will have plenty of work to do in the near future”.

A-Qar sat silently for a while. She finally said: “That… sounds really good… U-Mos”. They both smiled at the same time. After a while U-Mos stood up. He offered his hand to A-Qar, who took it. He pulled her up. “Let’s try to keep each other all right”, U-Mos said. A-Qar said: “Each other and everyone else too. I look forward to the next time we meet”.

“I look forward to it too”, U-Mos said. “May the Light of Aether shine upon you, A-Qar!” “May the Light of Aether shine upon you, U-Mos!” she replied.

They ended their session with a long hug.


	4. Towards day

### Background music: [Bryyo Main Theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwZhUb9N38Y)  
  
Planet Bryyo, many years ago 

Owanl ran as fast as she could without using up all of her strength at once. Good that fear gave her quite a bit of extra strength and speed. As soon as others knew what she was up to, they would go after her. Just like Skaan. Owanl felt a sting at her left side when she thought about him. 

Perhaps Hixxn could understand. She had not prevented her son from leaving either. But unlike her father, Owanl was their only chance of having a prophet once Hixxn passed away. She might not want to risk Owanl’s life on a trip like this. But if Owanl didn’t go, everyone would perish. 

Sending a band of warriors to escort her would be an even worse. Even the mightiest warriors were no match for the magics of the last Lord of Science. If a band like that approached his home, he would surely destroy all of them without bothering to listen why they had travelled there. Why would he? Every living being on Bryyo hated him. 

But why, then, would he listen to Owanl? In her vision, Owanl had seen herself waking him. Maybe she could find a way to sneak past his defenses, whatever they might be, and catch him off-guard. Owanl could try explaining everything from a position of power. Surely he’d listen to her. The star would be just as fatal to him as it was to everyone else. Owanl was sure of that. 

Finally, Owanl reached her first goal: the river. The villagers washed themselves here. On the other side of the river was plenty of prey. The path to the river was well-worn. On the narrowest part of the river, Owanl’s tribe had built a bridge. It wasn’t a fancy structure, just a log reaching from this bank of the river to the other. It was exactly what Owanl needed. 

She picked up a rock and placed it right next to the log. She started lifting the log with her hands until there was a gap large enough for her staff. She pushed the closer end of the log to the river using both her staff and her hands. The log made a big splash. Owanl then headed to the other end of the log and pushed it to the water too. Once the log was floating, she jumped on in and started paddling. 

Finally she could rest her feet! The river water was just the right temperature: cool enough to wash away all the dust her feet had gathered and cool her muscles, warm enough to not feel uncomfortable. That’s why this place was the place people washed everything. It would warm as she would continue to head downstream: a good thing, as Owanl didn’t want to cool down too much. 

The river was flowing rather rapidly, so Owanl mainly needed to use her staff to steer. She was moving almost as fast as she could jog. While moving on foot would be faster on the short term, one can’t run for hours, especially if they wanted to move as far as Owanl had to. She needed to conserve energy. 

Once she had travelled further downstream, Owanl started to eat her hopper. She was hungry after all this action, and the hopper would soon go foul in a place as warm and moist as the river. She hadn’t even had the chance to salt it! Another reason to eat was to make room for fresher food. This time Owanl didn’t need to hunt: the river was the main source of water for all animals and plants in the area. Many bushes grew on the river banks, and while most of them were of little interest to Owanl, plenty of them had berries and fruits. 

Time passed and the air got warmer. Just as Owanl was starting to get sleepy, she reached the second goal of her journey: the pond. It was a small lake that the river passed through. A handful of fish lived there, but unfortunately Owanl had no fishing gear with her, so they were safe for now. She simply guided her raft to the calmest bank of the pond and stepped ashore. 

Once she was firmly on the ground, Owanl kneeled by the pond and started to wash Skaan’s blood away. Now that she was relatively safe, she could afford such luxury. Unfortunately, the blood had dried hours ago, and getting it off was impossible. At least it would wear out… eventually. 

While washing her hands, Owanl noticed her own reflection. She looked scared and tired… lost, too. After giving up getting all blood away, Owanl gathered some dry leaves and pieces of wood and made a small campfire. She boiled as much water as she could carry. She didn’t need to drink any right now: the berries she ate for her meal were so juicy that it wasn’t necessary. After eating, Owanl dried and warmed her legs and tail. 

After the fire went out, she filled her bag with berries and fruits from the bushes. Owanl wasn’t sure if she could find any food or water in the savannah, so she wanted to carry as much as possible with her. It was getting harder and harder for her to keep her eyes open, so she went to sleep into the shadow of a large tree near the pond. Sleeping in the sun wasn’t a good idea. Just before she fell asleep, her last thought was a wish that she had gotten far enough from her home that nobody would be able to follow her. 

After some time had passed, Owanl woke up. Nothing had seemed to change, but she knew that she had slept a long time, as she felt well-rested, but sore. Owanl missed her bed. She got up, took her staff and bag and ate a breakfast from the bushes. Now she was ready for her next challenge: the savannah. 

The savannah was a completely new environment for her. Owanl was used to plains, where hiding was nearly impossible, and forests, where hiding was easy. In the savannah, hiding was easy too, as the long grass made a perfect hiding place, but its openness could fool one into thinking that they could see far. 

Were there large predators? Did the grass hide traps, natural or artificial? Maybe Owanl would meet people from other tribes? Hopefully they would understand that she was on a quest to save Bryyo and not bother her. Perhaps they would be willing to help her? 

It turned out that, for better or worse, Owanl’s journey through the savannah was completely uneventful. From time to time, some small critter or critters would make noise in the grass and flee, but apart from that, the only thing Owanl heard was the wind blowing through the grass. 

The savannah even looked boring: just a sea of brown, slightly dried grass and the occasional tree. The only thing that could catch anyone’s attention was a huge mountain in the horizon. That would be Owanl’s next goal. All she had to do was to walk and eat berries once in a while to keep herself fed and hydrated. At least the mountain was impossible to miss. 

Once she reached the mountain’s shadow, Owanl was relieved. She had felt this hot only a few times before, when a strong wind had brought hot air from the desert. The sun shone much stronger here, so getting into a shadow felt good. Owanl had never even thought that the sun could feel this powerful. 

The mountain looked even more magnificent up close. It made Owanl feel really small. And the mountain was surprisingly interesting to watch, as some parts of it most likely weren’t natural. If they weren’t, why were they built? What was their purpose? What had happened to the builders? Were all answers lost forever? 

Finally Owanl got too tired to walk. She entered a small crack or cave (or perhaps a ruined home?), dropped everything she carried and sat down. Even the shadows were so hot that she felt no need whatsoever to make a fire. She just ate her remaining berries (and the slightly mushed berries from the bottom of her bag) and some fruits before going to sleep with a mostly full stomach. 

Owanl couldn’t sleep well; it was too hot. But since it was quiet and she was far away from anyone that would try to wake her up, she could sleep until she felt she had rested enough. After waking, Owanl ate her remaining fruits. She still had all of her water left. Now all she had to do was to cross the desert into the lair of the last Lord of Science. 

Running out of food was not an issue. After all, the last Lord of Science was a Reptilicus like her. He had to eat and drink too, right? He had to have something to eat and drink there. Surely he would let Owanl have enough for a trip back to home. Failing that, she could always just steal what she needed. 

As Owanl stepped out of the mountain’s shadow, rays of sunlight hit her. It felt almost painful, but she would manage. She turned towards the sun and started walking towards the dunes in the distance. Little by little, the dry dirt was replaced by sand. 

The first part of the trip was easy. After getting on top of the first dune, Owanl could see a long, downhill slope. Walking downhill was fast and easy. Soon, even the large mountain disappeared, and Owanl could see nothing but sandy dunes in all directions. Good thing that her goal was in the direction of the sun, as it would be so easy to get lost in the sands. 

The first time Owanl had to drink was when she had reached the end of the large slope and had to climb a relatively small dune. The next time was when she reached the beginning of another dune. The time after that was when she had reached the top of said dune. Owanl tried to conserve water, but the dry air seemed to suck it out of her mouth. 

Then she started noticing the sand. Not the sand on the ground, but the sand carried by the desert wind. It got everywhere: her eyes, her nose, her mouth… it felt especially bad in her teeth. The sand also filled all spaces between her scales. Now Owanl really felt just how many scales she had. 

Eventually, she was out of water. Now all she could do was to stroll onwards as the sun got higher and higher. Owanl had never felt this hot. It was like walking really slowly towards a large bonfire, with two exceptions: when moving towards a bonfire, the side that faces the fire felt hot, while the other side still felt cool. In the desert, Owanl felt equally hot everywhere. More importantly, one could always retreat from the bonfire. Retreat was not an option for Owanl. 

The constant, intense heat from the sun had made Owanl’s head hurt. The sand had made it hard for her to keep her eyes open. Her walking had slowed, and now she was swaying left and right when she was going uphill. She did manage to scramble downhill a bit faster, but finally, on one shallow uphill, Owanl lost her balance and fell on all sixes. 

At first, Owanl tried to get up, but her legs were hurting too much. She started crawling, hoping that she would see her destination on the other side. But once she reached the top of the dune, all she could see was more desert. She lost her strength and fell on her stomach. 

Owanl turned her head to the left. She tried to clean her eyes by blinking. Once her eyes felt a bit better, she noticed something odd: Skaan was lying next to her. He was holding his hand on top of his wound. Blood was seeping by his fingers. He spoke with a frustrated, pained voice: “Owanl lie… Owanl not get back”. He took a deep breath. “Owanl said other lies? Owanl promise not hurt tribe, too…” Owanl wanted to respond, but her throat hurt too much. Unable to keep facing Skaan, she turned her head and looked to her right. 

She saw another Reptilicus walking by her. This one was male, like Skaan, but he was about as old as Amtti. 

Owanl had never seen him before. He was moving rather fast, using his staff to improve his balance. Despite being certain that she had never seen him, Owanl still found his face familiar. He looked a bit like Hixxn, but she had seen a similar face before… in the surface of water. He also looked like Owanl. 

“Dad?” Owanl asked with a faint voice. The man stopped and looked over his shoulder straight to Owanl’s eyes. He was smiling, but he somehow managed to look sad. “Dad!” Owanl said, now with more strength. It had to be him! Just seeing her father revitalized Owanl. Her father turned back and continued walking. With her newfound stamina and a bit of help from her staff, Owanl forced herself back up. 

Once Owanl caught up with her father, he sped up a bit. Now he moved so fast that Owanl could only barely keep up with him. This didn’t surprise with Owanl: he moved with such certainty that he was obviously on a quest, just like Owanl. 

Owanl wanted to ask her father so many questions. Like why hadn’t he returned home, what was his new quest about, how did he find her, where was his shadow, why didn’t his feet and staff leave any marks on the sand. If only he’d slow down a bit, or if her throat didn’t hurt this much. 

Still, walking with him felt really good. Owanl’s body was now completely numb, apart from her head and throat, which were still hurt. That let her move with great pace. Together, Owanl and her father travelled up and down the dunes, which grew smaller and smaller all the time. At this point, Owanl had completely lost her track of time. 

Suddenly, on an open ground, Owanl stopped. She started blinking rapidly. That was all she could do, as the rest of her body refused to do anything. Even worse, her father had disappeared somewhere. Owanl started to wobble slightly, and soon fell on her stomach. 

This was just like she had been before she had seen Skaan and her father, but now she was too weak to even turn her head. All she could do was to move her eyes. She didn’t need to do that, though, as the only thing to look at was some weird structure far in the horizon straight ahead. 

Suddenly, the air around her head and upper back felt slightly colder. Owanl gazed upward and saw a dark silhouette block the sun. It was none other than Ekrosyys, Caretaker of the Dead, here to take her soul to the sun. Owanl felt ashamed. She had failed her quest, failed her tribe, failed the gods, failed all of Bryyo. And now she had to explain it to the gods, or even worse, her mother. 

“What are you doing here, of all places?” Ekrosyys asked, sounding rather surprised. Now Owanl had to answer, no matter how much it hurt. “Must warn… the last… Lord of Science”. That was all she was able to say. Her eyes closed, and everything went dark. Ekrosyys sounded even more surprised when he said: “Warn the last Lord of Science? What on Bryyo could he possibly need to be warned about?” Owanl tried to explain: “Death… Stars…”, but she was out of breath. Owanl felt a light touch just before her consciousness faded away.

### Temple Grounds, planet Aether, one year after destruction of Dark Aether

K-Ror was walking back to the elevator leading to Agon Wastes. The air around him felt fresh and cool after spending so much time indoors with everyone. Others were still celebrating the start of their second year free from war. K-Ror had woken up early and was one of the first people in the celebration, but now he was tired and ready to sleep. 

K-Ror, like many others, still had trouble getting used to the time units of the Federation, but everyone knew that in the long run, it’d be good to be at least somewhat familiar with them. He was happy for a reason to take a day off. After one cycle, everyone had still been too tense to really celebrate, but now people had had a chance to calm down. 

It hadn’t been a happy party; all Luminoth had lost too much for that. Everyone just tried to calm one another. The Federation marines had successfully improved everyone’s mood. They hadn’t lost anyone, and thus could spread their own happiness. 

K-Ror arrived at the splinter nest. The splinters weren’t a real danger, as most of them had moved elsewhere after the troopers put their shelters near the nest. Still, small packs were still sometimes running around the area and K-Ror didn’t want to spend any more time near the nest than was necessary. 

Just before seeing the door to Agon Transport Access, K-Ror heard a high-pitched voice scream. He immediately turned around and listened. Splinters didn’t sound like that. He did hear the kinds of sounds they make as well – and they came from the same direction as the scream. K-Ror started jogging to the direction of the sounds. 

He soon heard the voice again, but this time, it wasn’t a pained scream, but a word: “Help!” It was clearly a child’s voice. K-Ror started running. He soon found a pack of splinters hiding in a light shade. They were biting and kicking something K-Ror couldn’t see. K-Ror ran as loudly as he could and shouted while approaching the pack. His efforts to scare the splinters were successful: they hissed and growled while they ran into a crack. The voice shouted Help!” again. It was coming right where the splinters had been. 

Coming from the bright light to the shadows had left K-Ror half blind, but soon he could make out what the splinters had been attacking. It was… another splinter. But unlike the grey of the other splinters, this one was pitch black. It was a dark splinter. 

K-Ror jumped back a bit. How could an Ing still be alive? The possessed splinter noticed K-Ror and squeaked. It tried weakly to move away from him.  ‘It fears me’, K-Ror thought. He watched the darkling try to move. It couldn’t even get up, as one of it legs pointed in the wrong direction. 

“Did you call for help?” K-Ror asked. The splinter stopped. It turned and stared K-Ror with its glowing red eye. “Yes,” it said. ‘With a voice like that, this Ing has to be just a child’, K-Ror thought and said: “Then let me help you”. He kneeled and slowly extended his arm until he touched the darkling. It felt surprisingly cool. “Here we go”, he said as he picked up the creature. It didn’t try to fight back. “Don’t be afraid, you are safe now”, K-Ror said as he started heading home.

### Agon Wastes, planet Aether

“That should do it”, K-Ror said as he finished patching the Ing. While he was only experienced in healing other Luminoth, the same principles could be applied with limited success to splinters… or dark splinters, in this case. He wasn’t sure what his healing herbs would do to a darkling, but just bracing the broken leg with some bandages and sticks was a good start. 

The Ing rolled back on his feet. He could stay up, even if he was shaking a bit. He tried to walk a bit, and managed to move, although he could only limp. Then he spoke for the first time after K-Ror had rescued him: “Why did you help me?” He looked away. 

K-Ror was puzzled by the question, so he simply answered: “Because you asked for help”. This seemed to confuse and frustrate the Ing. “But we’re at war! We’re enemies! I didn’t…” he took a short pause “… expect anyone to actually come”. K-Ror explained more: “As far as I know, the war ended a few cycles ago, when Dark Aether was destroyed. I had no idea that any Ing survived before I met you. And since you haven’t attacked anyone, you don't seem to want to continue fighting”. 

“No…” the Ing said and relaxed a bit. “But… I’m not a Luminoth”. K-Ror folded his arms. “We’ve dealt with all kinds of peoples in the past… before the Leviathan arrived. If you don’t want to harm anyone, I can’t see a reason why we would need to stay enemies”. The Ing spoke with a voice full of bitterness: “Everyone I want to harm is already dead”. 

That answer creeped K-Ror. A child should not say something like that, especially with such a voice. “Okay… Do you mind telling me how you survived? We thought that all Ing had died when Dark Aether was destroyed”. The Ing stared right at K-Ror. “When the Emperor was under attack, everyone was told to come back and help defend him. I just disobeyed and stayed on Aether”. 

K-Ror shifted his weight. “Why? Didn’t you want to save your planet?” “I didn’t”. They both stood in silence. “Why?” K-Ror repeated. The Ing looked away again. “It’s… a long story…” K-Ror kneeled to bring his face closer to the darkling’s. “Do you think that you don’t have enough time to tell about it?” He then noticed that the Ing’s injured leg had started to tremble. “Let’s have a seat”, he said and lifted the Ing onto his bed. K-Ror then sat next to him. 

The Ing dropped on his stomach and lay quietly. He was looking at the corner of the room and breathing more audibly than usual. K-Ror put his hand on one of the Ing’s legs. The Ing started talking with a silent voice: “We start as small, weak larvae… and everything on Dark Aether loves to eat Ing larvae. So, we travel in swarms. We look after each other”. He paused. “Many don’t survive, and everyone gets hurt. It teaches that we can only trust each other. And it teaches us to hate”. He gazed straight forward, seeing only into his past. “We Ing need something to hate. If we don’t hate, we start to wither away…”

An Ing larva 

K-Ror asked: “You had plenty of adult Ing there. Why didn’t they protect you?” The Ing jumped on his feet and stared directly at K-Ror’s eyes. His sight was full of rage. K-Ror backed off a bit. The Ing was now louder: “Many of us wanted to know. You are not allowed to ask that question”. He dropped back to his original position. “I survived long enough. They made me a Warrior. I was so happy! Finally, I could hurt others, like they tried to hurt me and my swarm”. He sounded excited.

“I was taught how to fight. In my own body or in someone else’s. We used your crystals to keep Aether’s creatures alive, so we can practice fighting them and trade hosts. You can’t take a good host before you earn it. But just before I got to perform my Rite of First Blood, I fought them”. He sighed. “Two Luminoth. A warrior and a larva. The only time I fought your kin”. K-Ror felt something gripping his stomach. Of course this Ing had hurt Luminoth. They were enemies. 

The Ing was again looking at his past. “Two on one. Must even the odds. Start by taking out the weakest link. The larva”. He was silent for a moment. “But the larva was just sitting there. And the warrior just stayed between me and the larva. I didn’t understand what they were doing. But I managed to knock them both out”. He glanced at K-Ror. “We weren’t allowed to hurt imprisoned Luminoth badly. Finding more was getting harder and harder”. He turned back. 

“After they were taken out, I asked an older Warrior what they were doing. It didn’t make any sense to me, and I wanted to be ready for the next time”. He started trembling, and all emotion vanished from his voice. “He explained that you always protect your weakest, even when it’s bad for you. You waste resources.”

Now K-Ror was getting angry. Every life is valuable. Everyone has weak moments. However, the Ing kept talking, sounding a bit distressed: “I know what they meant. That explained why you were weak and we were strong. That’s why we were winning. But… but all I could… all I could hear was…” He started crying, unable to continue. 

K-Ror wasn’t expecting that. Soon, the Ing managed to shout in rage: “All I could hear was that all this time, they could have protected us! I nearly died! And so many did die! We were just larvae! We were so scared, all the time! All I had wanted was to feel safe!” He was breathing rapidly, his eye unable to focus on anything. 

He stopped crying remarkably quickly, but he was far from calm: “At that moment, I started to hate him. I hated him more than I had hated anything in my life. I could feel… my hatred started to seep towards other Ing. Soon, I hated them more than I hated anything else. More than I hated your kin”. He closed his eye and tried to calm. K-Ror put his hand back on his leg. This time, the Ing leaned towards him. 

After he had calmed down, he opened his eye and continued: “I got my own host for Aether raids soon… a War Wasp. They’re so nice, they have wings”. He sighed to the fond memory. “Then new people started coming. First the Pirates, then the Hunter, then the marines, then another Hunter”. He paused. “The Hunters were unstoppable. One stole the energy from our planet. Then it attacked the Emperor. Everyone was ordered to help protect the Emperor”. 

“At that point, I realized that this was my chance to get away from the others. All I had to do was to disobey. Stay back. At first I was scared, but time passed, and I heard nothing about other Ing. The Hunter did it. Dark Aether was no more”. The Ing looked at K-Ror again. “I felt… satisfied. I couldn’t take care of our hive –the War Wasp Hive, not the Ing Hive –without help, so I found a new host. This”. He shrugged. 

“And I started living with the splinters. I tried to act like a normal splinter, gathering materials and food for the nest. But after about half of the time I had spent with them had passed”, he looked a bit puzzled, “I started to feel strange. Calm and cool. A bit tired, but in a good way. Fighting and hunting started to feel… stale”.

He was silent for a while, pondering. Then the Ing focused on the present and continued: “But in the end, the splinters really didn’t like that I ate so much, so they finally wanted to get rid of me. And then you came”. He looked at K-Ror. “So, I didn’t want to save my planet, because I hated it more than I hated yours. The right side won”. 

The Ing looked away again. It had never occurred to K-Ror than an Ing could betray their horde. He had though that all of them were simply beasts. He even felt slightly sorry for the Ing. He asked: “So what do you plan to do now?” The Ing sighed. “I don’t know… this splinter is too damaged to gather food, and I have no idea where I could find any. I haven’t thought much else than what to eat next”. He was really down. 

“You could stay here if you want”, K-Ror said without thinking. He then remembered who he was talking to… but it didn’t bother him because—“Why would you let me live here?” the Ing asked, sounding surprised. “I thought that all of you hated the Ing, after we killed so many of you. I’m sure some of them meant a lot to you”. 

“I do, but…” K-Ror paused to gather his thoughts. Talking to this Ing had given him conflicting feelings. “…you weren’t the one that killed them, right? So I have no reason to be angry to you in particular”. He turned to face the Ing. “And I live quite far from the others. Nobody would know that you’re here and… I’d like some friendly company to talk to. You might want that too. I imagine that splinters aren’t good with words”. 

The Ing stared at K-Ror. “Friendly company… with you…” Silence. “Someone to talk to…” He turned to look forward. “I’d like to talk more with you. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this safe”. He looked back to K-Ror. 

“Okay, I’ll stay if you let me”. He sounded a bit happier. “Do I need to do something first?” K-Ror stood up. “No. You should try to rest so you’ll heal. We can think about something for you to do after you are healthy again”. 

K-Ror took a few steps, the stopped and turned around. “Actually… there is one thing we should do first”. He went back to the bed and knelt so he was face-to-face with the darkling. “My name is K-Ror. What’s yours?” The Ing lay in silence. “I don’t have one. I’m not old enough for that, and I never did the trials”. 

K-Ror was struggling to understand that someone this old didn’t have a name. “Okay... what would you like to be called then? You can have a name now if you want.” The Ing was startled. “No! No name for me. It doesn’t… feel right”. He took a deep breath. “Just call me Ing”. His gaze lowered. “The last Ing…” K-Ror placed his hand on the Ing’s back to give him a little comfort. He hoped that, at some point, they could be friends.


	5. Ancient heritage

### Background music: [ Sanctuary Fortress ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNNT9iBtXa0)  
  
Planet Bryyo, many years ago 

The first thing Owanl felt was heat. Slowly, she started to feel the sand. It was in her eyes, in her nose, in her mouth. Suddenly, Owanl started feeling cold. Her entire body was shivering. Then she noticed that she way lying in a bed. The bed was more comfortable than anything she had slept in before. The bed and the blanket were so soft and warm. The only thing Owanl had heard at this point was her own breathing and heartbeat. Finally, Owanl managed to open her eyes.

Her bed was in a small cave. Unlike the cave she had last slept in, this one had perfectly smooth walls and floor. This could not be something natural; someone had to have built it. One wall had a rectangular hole, and sunlight was shining inside. The sun was much higher than what Owanl had used to. Finally, Owanl noticed that she wasn’t alone: a man was sitting on a stool next to her.

The man was without a doubt the oldest Reptilicus Owanl had ever seen. Even Hixxn looked like she was barely an adult compared to him. As soon as he noticed that she was focused on him, he said: “Ah, you are awake. Good. You must be thirsty. Would you like some water?” Owanl tried to speak, but her throat felt like it was covered in the burning sand of the desert. After a few futile attempts at speaking, Owanl simply nodded weakly. She was feeling hot again.

The man picked up a jug and a mug from a table near Owanl’s bed. He poured water from the jug into the mug and handed the mug to Owanl. Owanl accepted the mug. She stared at the mug. It looked like it was made of water, but it was still as heavy and as hard as stone. The sunlight glimmered in the mug and the water. Owanl took a sip.

The water was cool and even more tasteless that usual. Owanl’s mouth absorbed the water directly. It was surprisingly painful, and Owanl winced. Once the pain was gone, she took another sip. This one actually made it into her throat, but was slowly and painfully absorbed as well. Owanl was sure that no water had entered her stomach yet. The third sip didn’t hurt, but it tasted sandy, as it freed the sand in her mouth. It also reached her stomach. Owanl quickly finished her mug.

Once the mug was empty, Owanl gave it back to the man. The man filled the mug again and handed it back. Owanl drank this mug much faster than the first one, and gave it back. The man filled the mug yet again and gave it back to Owanl. They continued until the man’s jug was empty. The man took the empty dishes and put them back to the table.

Owanl fell back on her pillow. Just sitting was tiring. The cool water seemed to sap all the heat from her body, so now she was shivering. Owanl wanted nothing more than to sink into the bed. The man started to speak again: “That should make you feel a bit better…” He stretched his arms. “But I still don’t know your name. Could you introduce yourself to me?”

Owanl decided to introduce herself properly. The man was obviously much older than her, and he had also saved her life. She hoped that the man wasn’t expecting her to speak as difficultly as he did. She said: “This prophetess Owanl B-Shar. Owanl’s mom Primal huntress.” Owanl wished that she could also tell about her father, but, with the exception of their encounter in the desert, she had never even met him. She had no right to claim that he had raised her.

The man responded by introducing himself to Owanl: “My name is Andest C-Vivr.” He paused and continued with a silent, tired voice: “I am the last Lord of Science”.

Suddenly Owanl felt hot. Her heart started pounding. “The last Lord…” She couldn’t speak. Any remaining sleepiness was now gone. Her body was now ready to fight or flee… but she was still too tired to get up. Owanl panicked and crawled to the corner of her bed. ”Not get closer!” she shouted. “Go away!” Her back was against the wall. “Not hurt Owanl!”

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen! In her vision, Owanl had clearly seen herself waking up the last Lord of Science, not the other way around! That way, she would be in control and able to flee if needed. But now, she was effectively trapped and –

“Hurt you?” the last Lord of Science asked. “If I wanted to hurt you, I could have just left you in the desert. The heat and the sun would surely have finished what they started. Instead, I spent considerable effort to make sure that you survive and make a full recovery”. He leaned back and folded his arms. “Hurting you after all I’ve done to you would be… counterproductive, wouldn’t it?” He smirked.

“Yes…” Owanl said and relaxed a bit. Of course he was correct, but then again, the last Lord of Science could not be trusted. Still, she didn’t exactly have a choice. The last Lord of Science looked serious again. He said: “You were in the brink of death. Just a few hours more and you would have perished”. He tilted his head. “You also said that you wanted to warn me about something. I am curious”. He leaned closer. “Why would a Primal risk her life to warn me, of all people, about something? Do you feel strong enough to tell me?”

This was it. This was why Owanl had travelled this far. She could finally tell about her vision. But… if she would tell, the last Lord of Science would have no reason to keep her alive. Her survival would depend entirely him wanting to keep her alive. But if she didn’t tell, everyone would die. She decided to tell. For tribe. For Bryyo.

Owanl started to feel cold again. She spoke slowly and clearly: “Few sleeps ago, Owanl get vision. Owanl see star hit Bryyo. Bryyo die”. She paused. “Vision show Owanl more. The last Lord of Science stop star, if Owanl warn first.” Owanl swallowed. Now the part she had feared. “Will the last Lord of Science save Bryyo?”

“Hmm…” The last Lord of Science put one of his hands under his chin and looked up. “A meteorite will hit Bryyo… Or possibly a comet. If I modify some old gear… Doesn’t seem too difficult to stop, if I have enough time.” He looked back at Owanl. “I’ll do it”.

That answer surprised Owanl. “The last Lord of Science save Bryyo… No questions? No pay? No tricks?” The last Lord of Science stared at her. “Well, I live on Bryyo. I’d prefer if it stayed intact”. Owanl felt stupid. Obviously the last Lord of Science lived on Bryyo too. Why hadn’t she realized that?

The last Lord of Science continued: “I could do this faster if I had help. Would you like to help me save Bryyo? I’ll teach you everything you need to know”. Owanl froze. She started to feel hot again. In her vision, she had worked together with the last Lord of Science but… if she would accept his offer and learn his teachings, she could never return home. And if she declined, she wouldn’t have a home to return to. It was an easy decision. For tribe. For Bryyo.

“Owanl help the last Lord of Science”. Her answer made him smile… although his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Excellent! I had hoped that you’d say that”. And Owanl had hoped that he would stop using so hard words, but it seemed that only one of them could get their wish granted. The last Lord of Science stood up. “I need to make preparations”, he said. “And you need to rest. You are still quite sick. Your lessons start as soon as you are well. Good night”. He picked up the dishes and turned around.

That sounded so strange that Owanl had to ask: “What ‘good night’? Night just where Owanl came, but more far, right?” The last Lord of Science stopped and slowly turned around. He looked directly into Owanl’s eyes and said: “You might find it hard to believe, but when I was young, the sun used to move through the sky. And when the sun was gone, we said that it was night”.

Owanl was astonished. “Sun… gone?” Terror gripped her stomach. “No! Sun stay still!” She looked out of the window. Judging from the direction of the light, the sun hadn’t moved. She looked back at the last Lord of Science. “The last Lord of Science promise not move sun?!”

The last Lord of Science said: “Don’t worry; it won’t be night when you wake up”. He turned back and walked to a different-looking part of the wall. He said with an unbelievably bitter voice: “In this cursed desert there will never be night”. The wall opened and the last Lord of Science walked out. The wall then closed.

Owanl took a deep breath. She couldn’t understand why anyone would want the sun to go away. Despite this last conversation, she felt relieved. Her quest was much closer to its end! Now that the last Lord of Science knew about her visions, everything would soon be fine.

Owanl moved to a more comfortable position. Her bed was so soft and warm. Talking with someone who uses so many hard words had completely exhausted her. She also had a headache from listening to him. She shivered from the cold. It didn’t take long from her tiredness to defeat her discomfort. The bed and the pillow helped a lot. Owanl soon fell asleep.

### Lair of the last Lord of Science, Bryyo’s hotside, many years ago

Owanl recovered from her sickness and injuries somewhat faster than she had expected. Unsurprisingly, Andest knew more about healing than anyone else. Thankfully, he relied more on herbs than the magic of the Science Lords, as Owanl was still not comfortable with the idea being the target for the magic of the last Lord of Science.

After spending that long in bed, Owanl was eager to walk and run again. She had never been quite sure what the lair of the last Lord of Science would look like, but she was surprised at how bright it was. It was almost as bright as outdoors (near Owanl’s home; the desert was rather brighter). Unlike in tents, there were no torches or fires: all light came from strange, white objects of many shapes and sizes.

The lair was full of ancient artefacts. Owanl couldn’t even begin to understand what any of them did, let alone how they worked. At least they seemed to be content to just sit still, but Owanl had no desire to poke them and accidently break them, or worse, to wake them up. The only thing she could understand was the indoor farm, where various plants and mushrooms grew.

As soon as Owanl was fully healed, her first lesson began. Andest took her into a small room, and they sat around a small table. “As all of this is new, and most likely a bit scary to you”, he said, “I’ve decided to ease you into these lessons by choosing a subject you are at least somewhat familiar with”. ‘Owanl want Andest use easy words’, was Owanl’s idea of easing her into learning. Andest smiled faintly and finished: “Magic”.

Owanl was surprised. While she was not anywhere close to Hixxn, she did know at least something about magic… but just the thought of learning any wicked magic of the Science Lords made her anxious. Andest continued: “To start off, we need a common ground. I’d like you to make any spell we both can see or feel. I know that you can do divination, but that is not something I can really observe, nor can I teach you much about it”.

Owanl thought for a while. “Owanl make fire”, she finally answered. “Owanl need wood and magic powder”. Andest stood up. “All right then, but let’s move somewhere where we can safely make fire”. First they moved to Owanl’s room where Owanl took some of her fire powder, then they moved to a storage room where Andest took some dried cactus (wood was mostly unavailable in the desert). After that they filled some buckets with water and entered a larger room with an empty stone floor.

“Before you begin”, Andest said, “may I take a look at your magic powder?” Owanl handed to pouch over to him. He opened the pouch and stared at the powder. Then he took some of it in his fingers and smelt it. “Hmm… Interesting…”He then tested the powder by rubbing his fingers together until all of the powder was back in the pouch. Finally he handed the pouch back to Owanl. “All right. You may start when you are ready”.

Owanl was tense. Now her spell would be judged by none other than the last Lord of Science himself. ‘Owanl made many fires’, she thought. ‘Now Owanl just make another fire’. She calmed down a bit. She sat down and took two pieces of cactus into her lower hands. She then sprinkled a thin layer of powder on one of the pieces and whispered the words of magic to the powder. With the preparations complete, Owanl could start her spell.

She started rubbing the cactus pieces together in a round motion. After a few full circles, she moved them sharply while twisting them – and heard a fiery sizzle! Owanl quickly dropped the pieces to the ground. They had ignited nicely, and the flames soon completely engulfed both of them. Owanl took a few steps back, looked at Andest and smiled contentedly. “There! Owanl make fire!”

The last Lord of Science stared silently into the fire. All of a sudden, he burst out laughing. The laughter made Owanl take a step back. It was completely devoid of happiness. “That… that wasn’t magic at all!” Andest said. His laughter stopped in an eye blink and his face turned completely serious. “No… this is magic!” He raised his lower left arm and pointed his palm at the cactus pieces Owanl hadn’t used. Owanl felt a surge of energy, like the ones she got when she was about to see a prophecy, but this one didn’t appear inside her. It felt like it raged outside her.

In a single whoosh, flames covered the cactus pieces. Owanl’s eyes widened. She took a step away from the fire. She was completely dumbstruck and unable to speak. “What a joke!” Andest said, “A Primal and a Lord of Science try to make fire…. and the Science Lord uses magic, while the Primal uses science!”

That accusation snapped Owanl back to her senses and into panic. “No! Owanl n-not use s-science! O-Owanl not… bad!” Andest folded his arms and looked into Owanl’s eyes. “Do you really think that the last Lord of Science will hate you if you use science?” Owanl lowered her head and looked at her feet. She felt so stupid right now.

Meanwhile, Andest had picked up one of the buckets and extinguished the fires. “I had hoped that this wasn’t the case, but what I had feared has happened: the Primals have lost their magic. That’s what generations of barbarism and savagery do: everything separating people from animals slowly fades away”. Owanl started crying silently. She wanted to shout how the last Lord of Science was wrong about her people, but in her heart she knew that he was speaking the truth.

“Decline”

Andest placed his hands on her shoulders. Owanl raised her head. Andest looked into her and tried his best to smile encouragingly, but didn’t quite manage to do it. “Don’t blame yourself. All of this happened ages before you were born. Think of this as your chance to bring back what’s lost”. That thought made Owanl feel a bit better. She could stop herself from crying.

After a while, Andest took a step back and folded his arms again. “But we do have a problem now. It seems that you have never made a spell in your life, right?” Owanl simply nodded. Andest tilted his head. “But you have had prophecies, or at least a prophecy. You felt a rush of power when you saw your visions, did you not?”

The question surprised Owanl. “How Andest know?” Andest grinned. “That power is your magic”. He lowered his arms. “But it is not exclusive to receiving visions. You can summon it any time you want, to use it in other forms of magic. Can you feel it?” Owanl closed her eyes. She gazed inside herself, and somewhere deep, she felt something that was hers, but not really a part of her. “Owanl feel… warmth…” “Here, I’ll help you pull it to the surface…”

### Lair of the last Lord of Science, Bryyo’s hotside, many years ago

Thanks to Andest’s help, it didn’t take that long for Owanl to learn how to access her magic. She could start to learn real spells right now… even if the spell were the work of the Science Lords. But before he taught her any real magic, Andest wanted to start their next lesson.

They were in a small room. The room was dim, apart from one brighter source of light that was directed at a table in the center of the room. Around the table were several very soft and comfortable chairs. Andest had Owanl sit in one of the chairs. He then sat on the chair next to her and placed a rectangular object on the table. To Owanl’s surprise, the rectangle had a picture on top of it, but she didn’t know the meaning of the image.

“Now, you will learn to read. Later on, you will practice writing”. Owanl looked at the object. “What ‘reading’? Owanl not know word”. Andest closed his eyes and sighed. He looked tired. He opened his eyes and said: “Remember that painting you showed to me? The one that showed your visions?” Owanl nodded. “But wasn’t it rather… imprecise. One could easily misunderstand it if you weren’t there explaining. Wouldn’t you want to make a painting that people won’t misunderstand?”

Now Andest had Owanl’s total attention. Of course she knew about the problems with the paintings: Hixxn had saved her old pictures, but she had forgotten the details. Good thing that the events in those prophecies were already in the past, but if they weren’t… Making pictures more accurate would be like a dream come true (a normal dream, not a vision). How would a spell like that work?

Andest noticed Owanl’s interest. He waited for Owanl to fully understand what he had said before he continued: “Making pictures like that is called ‘writing’. And looking at said pictures is called ‘reading’”. And now Andest would teach her this magic!

Andest grabbed the rectangle and twisted it. The rectangle became larger. He then did something to it. The object made strange noises. Finally Andest placed the object back to the table. He moved so that Owanl could see better. “This is known as a book”, he said. “It is made of pages”. He moved his fingers on the book, and Owanl could see that the book was made many small canvases. “The outer pages are called covers”. Andest knocked the covers: they sounded hard.

“What book does?” Owanl asked. She was already anxious to learn. “Books contain pictures we call ‘letters’. Each letter has a specific meaning. Understand what each letter means, and you will understand the meaning of the picture”. He paused and looked at Owanl. “Everything you can say can be drawn with letters”.

Owanl had to stop and think for a while. “Andest say… Owanl can draw… speaking?” She had difficulty grasping the idea. Andest nodded. “That’s what you do when you write. When you read, you ‘listen’ to the speech of the person who has written the book”. Owanl couldn’t wait. “Andest show Owanl now?” she asked. She hadn’t noticed that her breathing was heavy.

Andest pushed the book slightly closer to Owanl. Owanl took a closer look. One page had pictures of all sorts of items; the other had much simpler pictures. They had to be letters. “This book is special”, Andest explained. “It is meant to teach young Reptilicus how to read. It doesn’t have anything interesting to say. Most books are rather different”. So it was like those wooden chakrams children played and practiced with. Probably a good choice, as even this book looked quite intimidating.

“Golden Age”

Andest pointed at a letter. “This is the first letter you must learn. It is called ‘A’”. “A?” was all Owanl could ask. But that didn’t mean anything! “Correct”, Andest said, confusing Owanl even more. “Next, look at these pictures. I don’t know how many of these are familiar to you, but do you find anything they have in common?”

Owanl shifted her gaze to the pictures. “Umm…” She knew what things most of the images pictured, but they didn’t seem to have anything in common. She went through the list of the objects in her head, until she suddenly realized what they all shared: “Ah!” Andest tried to smile again: once more, he failed. “Exactly. To say any of these, you need to say ‘A’. And to write them, you need to draw ‘A’”. That had to be the smartest thing Owanl had ever heard!

Andest moved the pages. Now there were new pictures, and new letters. “We’ll go over some more letters right now, so you can read at least some words. Then you can try writing. It will take some time to learn all letters, so don’t be frustrated”. That didn’t bother Owanl: this was something she would be ready to spend years, if that’s what it’d take.

### Lair of the last Lord of Science, Bryyo’s hotside, many years ago

Owanl’s third lesson turned out to be a shock. Again, they entered the room with the table and the nice chairs. This time however, Andest sat on the other side of the table, so that he and Owanl faced each other. “Now, we will have a history lesson. I want you to better understand the world… and me”. Owanl was disappointed. She didn’t really care about things that had happened even before Hixxn was born. But after thinking about it a while, she got a bit curious. How could someone as pleasant as Andest ever become a Lord of Science?

“But this lesson will start a bit different: you will teach me”. Owanl froze. What could she teach Andest? He was so much older than her! “I’ve witnessed our war myself… but I’d like to know what the Primals still remember about it. So… what can you tell me about the Lords of Science and the history of Bryyo? Start from the beginning, if you may”.

Owanl tried to remember what she had been taught when she was young. She took a deep breath and was about to start, but she stopped. How could she say anything without upsetting Andest? “Umm…”There was no way the last Lord of Science would like what – “Are you afraid that I won’t like what you are going to say? Don’t be; I am perfectly aware that the Primals see me as a monster. I won’t be insulted by what you say”.

Owanl sat in silence. How had he guessed? Either he could read her mind, or she was just that obvious. She swallowed and started speaking: “Long ago, Reptilicus live all over Bryyo. Peace everywhere. Then bad Reptilicus came. Bad Reptilicus called ‘the Lords of Science’”. Owanl’s mouth felt dry. She shrunk in her chair and looked at Andest. He tried to smile, but after he failed, he nodded to show that he really wasn’t going to be angry.

Owanl calmed enough to continue: “The Lords of Science have bad magic called ‘science’. Use bad spells to hurt and break. Homes, people, even planet. Good Reptilicus get name ‘Primal Traditions’. Good and bad Reptilicus start war. War almost kill Bryyo, and most Reptilicus die. Primals win. Kill all the Lords of Science… but one”. The one sitting across the table. Suddenly Owanl trembled with discomfort. She finished: “Life return normal”.

“Age of War”

Andest sighed and leaned back. “Hmm…” he said, thinking. “Why did the Lords of Science attack people?” The question surprised Owanl. Why didn’t he understand...? Well, he was the last Lord of Science. Maybe that’s why. “The Lords of Science evil”, she replied. “But nobody does evil for the sake of being evil. Surely they… we… had a reason for doing what we did. Were you told what it was?”

Owanl’s discomfort grew. “The Lords of Science evil…” was all she could say. Andest tilted his head. “All right, you said that we used wicked magic. What separated it from the magic the Primals used?” This question improved Owanl’s mood, as she knew the answer: “Primal magic aid and heal. The Lords of Science magic… break and… hurt…”

But even before she finished her answer, doubt filled her. All hunters used magical chakrams. And Andest was the best healer she knew. “But I healed you, didn’t I?” Owanl felt embarrassed. “And that fire spell of yours was rather destructive, wasn’t it?” “Owanl know!” she shouted. She was now breathing rapidly. Why did he have to use so hard words?

Andest folded his arms. “Have you ever thought about these questions?” Of course Owanl had, but—“You seem to be missing rather important parts of the story, don’t you?” Owanl licked her lips and looked down, away from Andest. “Owanl ask Hixxn. Hixxn say: ’No ask bad questions!’ Owanl good girl and not ask again”.

Andest’s next question managed to be even worse: “If that tale has so big holes, and you can’t ask anything about them, have you ever thought that you weren’t told the truth?” Owanl’s head snapped back towards Andest. “Grandma not tell lies!” she shouted. “I believe you”, Andest said, “But she merely told you what she knew. Maybe she was the one being lied to. Or the person who told her. Who knows?” Owanl thought about it. That did make sense. The war took place ages ago, and it’d take only one forgetful (or dishonest) person, and all everyone would remember was a lie. The thought bothered her.

Andest seemed oddly satisfied. “Perhaps you would like to hear my version of Bryyo’s history? I was there when it all happened”. Owanl looked cautiously at Andest. It wasn’t like she had to believe him. She could just listen what he had to say and then decide which store made most sense. She didn’t want to believe anyone’s lies. Owanl nodded.

“We did wage war like you said”, Andest started, “but it was not a war between good and bad magic users: it was a war between those who used magic and those who didn’t”. Andest paused to give Owanl time to understand what he had said. She couldn’t do it. “All need magic”, she said with a flat voice. “If the Lords of Science not have magic, how they fight?!” The thought was too much for her. Owanl’s head started to hurt.

“With science”. That answer didn’t really help. “Remember your first lesson, Owanl. Magic is using the power inside you, or using someone else’s power that they stored away for later use. If you aren’t doing either of those, you are not using magic. Take you fire powder for example: no power is needed to create or use it; therefore, it is not magic. It is a…” he paused for a split-second and slightly tilted his head, “power of science, you might say”.

That explanation helped a lot, but now Owanl had a new question. “If science not bad magic, why Primals and the Lords of Science fight?” Andest leaned forward. “Ah, now we’re getting to the real story”. He looked down. “It is a sad one… something that could have easily been prevented”. And most likely also full of Andest’s long, hard words. Did all Lords of Science talk like that?

“A long time ago, Bryyo was a paradise… and we lived peace. With peace, we had plenty of free time… so much that we could start unlocking the secrets of nature. We prospered more than ever before”. He looked to the ceiling. “We could travel among the stars! We even met friends there…” He looked at Owanl. Sadness started seeping into his eyes. “The people behind all this success called themselves Lords of Science. They were loved by many”.

‘The Lords of Science not seem bad’, Owanl thought. She couldn’t see how a war could start. “But many resented them, as they had pushed aside our traditional ways”, Andest continued. “The people unhappy with the times called themselves Primal Traditions. Our friends in the stars – particularly one known as the Chozo – told us that we must find unity. In our arrogance, we Science Lords failed to hear their warning, failed to see the rage in the hearts of the Primals”.

“We were so blind that our greatest, Sfimas – the first Lord of Science – denounced the Primals and their traditions”. Owanl gasped. Surely if Andest would try to lie to her, he wouldn’t tell about a Lord of Science that was precisely what they had been in the stories Owanl had heard back in the camp… right? Then Owanl noticed something: Andest was full of rage, even if he did his best to hide it.

“Well, he ancient Primals didn’t like that. At. All!” Andest said. He took a break to calm down a bit. “First there were some fistfights, but we could still talk. Then the violence started escalating… over time, every Reptilicus became either a Lord of Science or a Primal… and the war started”. He sounded tired.

“And we waged war like never before! Both sides created new weapons, each more horrifying than the ones before, and the vilest of them faced each other. Neither side cared that we caused more damage to Bryyo itself than the enemy. Our friends in the stars begged us to stop, but we ignored them. One by one, they turned away in disgust, and could we really blame them? Serves us right”.

“Downfall”

“Over time, the Lords of Science ran out of resources. Our weapons stopped, and the Primals still alive killed most of us. The few survivors, including me, fled to this very desert. We built new machines… machines that would gather all pollution and poison our war caused, and send it away. And it worked: our planet was saved!”

Andest paused. He was struggling with his emotions. “If you have ever looked into the sky, you must have seen them… our ships. They’re still up there, keeping the poison at bay”. He sighed. “The Primals didn’t know that. They figured that it was another attack. So, they attacked us again. Only one Lord of Science survived.” He took another break. “I hid somewhere the Primals couldn’t find me. I wanted to continue our work: to restore Bryyo to its former glory”.

“I had learned my lessons, but the Primals… hadn’t. Without an enemy to fight, the Primals turned against each other”. Owanl felt terror grasping her stomach. Yes, tribal war was the rule of the land. She had never thought why the “good” Reptilicus couldn’t live in peace with each other. “Over time, they started losing what they had. Their history, their culture, their traditions… even their magic, it seems”.

“And that’s why we got here. Do you have any questions?” Owanl felt terrible. She could only ask one question: “Is Primals bad?” Then, she asked another question without really thinking: “Is Owanl bad?” Andest tried to look encouraging when he answered: “Of course you are not bad, Owanl. You can’t be blamed for the actions of your ancestors. Your own actions define you… and you are still young”.

He took a deep breath. “What comes to the Primals… keep in mind that the war wouldn’t have started if the Lords of Science – and Sfimas in particular – hadn’t been so arrogant. Still, we tried to better ourselves, unlike the Primals”. He waited for Owanl to say something, but Owanl couldn’t speak. “If that’s all, the lesson is over. You can ask me later if more questions come to your mind”.

They got up and left the room. They ate a small meal before going to sleep. Owanl almost ran to her room. Once inside, she sat on her bed. She was in pain. She felt betrayed. Pretty much everything she had known about the world had turned out to be a lie. Owanl took her lucky charm off her neck and held it in her hands. She looked at it. It was a Primal charm. Owanl put the charm in her bag. She knew her parents had meant well, but she couldn’t wear it anymore. She didn’t want to be a Primal anymore.

Owanl was so confused: like everyone else, she hated the Lords of Science, but now she hated the Primals as well. They were both at a fault! Her only comfort was that Andest might have tried to trick her with his story. If so, she would catch him from lying sooner or later. Then she could wear her charm again with a good conscience. She only feared that she wouldn’t catch Andest from a lie, because everything he had told her was true.

Owanl fell down on her bed. That lesson had been extremely draining. Even food hadn’t given her strength. She did the only thing she could: she cried herself to sleep.

### Lair of the last Lord of Science, Bryyo’s hotside, many years ago

Slowly but surely, Owanl learned to read, although Andest claimed that she was learning at a perfectly normal rate. Once she knew all letters, Andest gave her simple books for practice. To Owanl’s dismay, every single book Andest gave her used same kind of words that Andest used. After every book, Owanl could read a little faster.

Once she could read at a reasonable speed, Andest gave her full access to his library. Most of the books were actually stored inside some kind of machines, and the only way to read them was through a window. While Owanl preferred reading from an actual book, the windows made finding what she wanted much easier.

Now that she could read, Andest always mentioned at least one book at the end of each lesson, so Owanl could find out more if she wanted. She read about mathematics, physics, magic, chemistry and biology. Out of those, magic had by far the least books. Biology, on the other hand, had so many that Owanl had to focus just about the bits about Reptilicus biology and medicine.

Owanl also spent nearly all of her free time reading (she also practiced magic a bit). She was reading through history books. In her time at the tribe, she had never even thought about Bryyo’s history before the arrival of the Lords of Science. It turned out that majority of their history actually took place before them. One name caught Owanl’s attention.

Andest’s name was mentioned in a place she couldn’t believe. She rushed to get an answer. “Andest”, she said. “I read books on history. Bryyo had emperors?” “Yes, we have had many dynasties. Why do you ask?” Now Owanl could get to the real question: “Books say, the last emperor of Bryyo was Andest I”. She paused to think how to ask her question in a clear way.

Andest, however, instantly guessed what Owanl wanted to ask: “And now you wonder if I’m the last emperor of Bryyo as well”. Owanl swallowed. “Yes”. If Andest really was royalty, she really should start showing proper respect. “Well, I’m not. I’m actually too young, if you can believe! Royal names just tend to be really popular, and I was born under his reign. I used to know about several Andests when I was young. If you keep on reading about Bryyo’s dynasties, you will find about more than one Owanl”.

That surprised Owanl. “You say… there was… empress Owanl? More than one?” That was hard to believe. “But Owanl just a common name! Right?” Andest looked at Owanl. “There’s not really any names exclusive to the Imperial families… Any name they chose to use tended to become a common one. ‘Royal name’ just means any name that the current royal family has”. He paused and looked down. “Which means that, right now, there are no royal names”.

Owanl believed Andest. Why would he lie about this, anyway? She continued going through history books. To her surprise, the machines contained paintings in addition to books. They were more precise than she could’ve imagined possible. Some of them even moved! A few claimed to depict Andest I: if they were real, he and the last Lord of Science were clearly different people.

No matter how hard she tried, she could find no falsehoods from the books or the machines. Any question she had ever had was answered. They even answered so many questions Owanl never thought about asking! Meanwhile, every Primal explanation and story seemed more and more incomplete. The only reasonable conclusion was that the books here told the truth.

That hurt Owanl, but she also felt relieved. After all, it meant that she was not a bad person for studying under the last Lord of Science. At this point, by her request, Andest gave Owanl some Science Lord clothes, like the ones he wore. Apparently, clothes like that were used by nearly all Reptilicus in the past. They felt light, cool and unrestrictive, but in cooler places they should also feel warm, thanks to “insulation”, as Andest claimed.

Having completed her research, Owanl had enough free time to read non-scientific books. There were so many tales, myths, legends, jokes and even some completely news things to her. She went through happy stories, sad stories, funny stories, boring stories, epic stories and mundane stories. While doing this, Owanl slowly realized that she was having more fun with reading than she had ever had before. She felt that her life was better than it had ever been before!

Then an explosion shook the last Lord of Science’s lair.

### Lair of the last Lord of Science, Bryyo’s hotside, many years ago

The entire room went dark. Owanl was badly startled: her heart was beating uncomfortably fast. She rushed to the window and looked out: an enormous pillar of smoke was rising exactly where Andest had headed. Owanl ran to the garage, hopped on a vehicle and speeded towards the pillar.

Owanl saw Andest at the base of the smoke pillar. “Andest! Are you okay?!” she shouted. “I’m fine, I’m fine!” he shouted and hopped on his own vehicle. “We need to get home, right now!” he said and wasted no time starting up his engine and blasting off. Owanl drove right next to him. “What happened?!” she shouted over the roaring air. “A terrible accident! We’ve lost almost all of our Fuel Gel! We must start the backup power as soon as we get home!”

As soon as they reached home, they went to the backup generator and turned it on. Most of their home had now power again, but they still had to conserve energy as much as possible – only very little of their Fuel Gel had survived. Most importantly, the Monegars protecting them were now powerless. “What… are we going to do now, Andest?” Owanl asked, worrying about the future.

Andest had closed his eyes, thinking. “Hmm…” After a while, he opened them. “This sets back our plans of planetary defense, but… it might not be a problem. How well do you still remember you visions?” “Clearly”, Owanl said in surprise. “Why? You know already all you need to, right?” Andest took a breath and said: “The prophecies are often metaphors. Tell me as accurately as possible: the meteor hits Bryyo, and…”

“… Bryyo shatters”, Owanl finished. Andest seemed to want more. “The pieces… drift apart… they cool down from red to gray… then they turn… blue” She shuddered. “An evil shade of blue…” She didn’t want to see it again. Andest said Owanl’s thoughts out loud: “I think that the part where they turn blue is important”.

The next part was something Owanl hadn’t thought of yet: “It’s… poison, or radiation. Maybe even a curse. Something similar”. Owanl had a realization: “So we don’t need to stop it, all we can also clean it after the impact!” “Exactly!” Andest responded. “While this is a setback, it is not that bad. Now, could you tell me about another part: you wake me up, we go outside, and…”

Now was Owanl’s turn to close her eyes. “… and we stand still… you hand me over something… I throw it in the air… it looks like a small, bright light… the meteor explodes –” Andest interrupted: “Did the light hit the meteor?” Owanl opened her eyes in surprise. “What? Um…” She closed her eyes again and tried to remember. “I don’t think… No, it doesn’t”. She started feeling very unpleasant. She opened her eyes, but the feeling didn’t go. “What do you think that means? Nothing bad, right?”

“Hmm… No, I don’t think it’s bad…” Andest said, but Owanl felt that he wasn’t telling everything. Of course she wanted to know more, but if Andest wasn’t telling, he had to have a good reason. Andest spoke again: “Owanl, I must do certain preparations alone. You must not disturb me. Could you do your normal work and spend your free time as you usually do?”

Even though his words seemed ominous, Owanl trusted him completely. “Of course. Tell me about them as soon as you are done!” Andest turned around. “Don’t worry, I will. See you later, Owanl!” He ran to the hallway. “Goodbye, Andest!” Owanl shouted after him.

### Lair of the last Lord of Science, Bryyo’s hotside, a few days later

Andest walked to Owanl as she was eating. He was carrying a large backpack. “Eat as much as you possibly can, but eat fast. Say when you are ready”, he said. Owanl wondered the why he told her that, but, having just started, obeyed without asking anything. It didn’t take her that long to finish. “Done!” she said. “Good. Now, put all of your belongings in your bag and take it with you. Meet me in the Portal room”.

Owanl gathered her stuff and headed to the portal room. Andest had dropped his backpack on the floor. “Do you have everything?” “Yes”, she said. Something about this made her nervous. “What’s this all about?” “I’ve watched our monitors. A large Primal war band has noticed the smoke and is headed our way. It won’t be long until they reach us”.

Terror gripped Owanl’s heart. “What are we going to do? Should we flee?” Andest folded his arms. “Remember who I am… They will pursue us no matter where we go. They won’t rest until we are dead”. “Then we’ll fight!” Owanl shouted, thinking of her new skills. “I can hold my own!” Andest shook his head. “Against so many? I doubt it”.

He looked at Owanl with sad eyes. “Even if you could, after so many deaths, you might just bring our kind to extinction”. Owanl was starting to panic. “There must be something we can do!” Andest was silent for a while. “Unfortunately”, he sighed, “I can’t think of a way to save us both”. That was too much for Owanl. “But you’re the last Lord of Science!” she shouted without thinking. “You can do anything!”

For the first time, Owanl saw Andest get really angry. “NO, I CAN’T!” he screamed. Owanl had to take a step back. Andest’s voice was filled with all the pain and sadness he had accumulated over centuries. “DO YOU THINK THAT I WOULD LIVE HERE IF I ‘COULD DO ANYTHNIG’?” he continued shouting. “DO YOU THINK THAT I WOULD LET ALL OTHER REPTILICUS LIVE LIKE ANIMAS IF I ‘COULD DO ANYTHNIG’? DO YOU THINK THAT BRYYO WOULD STILL BE A WASTELAND IF I ‘COULD DO ANYTHNIG’? DO YOU THINK THAT BRYYO WOULD STILL BE LANDLOCKED IF I ‘COULD DO ANYTHNIG’?”

He was breathing heavily. “DO YOU THINK THAT I WOULD HAVE LET ANY OF THE WARS HAPPEN IF I ‘COULD DO ANYTHNIG’? DO YOU THINK THAT I WOULDN’T HAVE SAVED EVERYONE… EVERYONE IF I ‘COULD DO ANYTHNIG’? NO, OWANL, I CAN’T ‘DO ANYTHNIG’!” Owanl was scared. She had never asked what Andest had felt. Why couldn’t she have seen this?

At least all that shouting had been too much for Andest’s voice. He recovered it with a spell, but now he was speaking with an icy, bitter voice: “If I could do anything… I’d go back in time… find Sfimas, before his speech… and punch him straight to the muzzle. So hard that he couldn’t speak for a while. I’d make the Lords of Science listen to the Primal Traditions… and everything would be fine… none of this would have happened…”

He twitched and looked at Owanl. Now he was just sad. “I’m sorry, Owanl… If I did that, you would never have been born… And you matter me more than any other Reptilicus I’ve ever met… I’m sorry you had to hear that… I’d want you to be there, too…” He started crying. Owanl moved closer and hugged him. “I understand. You just want to help everyone”. She had never realized just how much he was hurting all the time.

After a while, they separated. Andest coughed and started talking with a calm voice: “I can’t save us… but I still have some tricks left. We have one advantage over the Primals: they have no idea that you are here”. Owanl didn’t follow him. “How is that supposed to help us?” Andest grinned sadly. “It means that if all they find is me, my death will satisfy them. They will not try to hunt you. I can’t save us, but I can save you!”

Owanl felt hollow. “But that means that you will die!” Andest just tilted his head. “Magic and science have given me a longer life than any other Reptilicus, but even their combined might has its limits. Even without this attack, I wouldn’t have many years left. Now it’s up to you to finish the work of the Lords of Science and save Bryyo”.

Owanl had difficulty speaking: “Does… does this mean… that I’m now a Lord of Science?” Andest tried (and failed) to smile and placed his hand on Owanl’s shoulder. “You already are. You’ve been for quite some time, if you ask me”. Owanl felt so proud, yet… “But… I’m not as smart and wise and powerful as you…”

Andest squeezed her shoulder encouragingly. Owanl put her own hand on top of his. “Owanl… the reason I consider science more powerful than magic in the long term is that with magic, you have to keep practicing in your own. Guidance will only help up to a point. With science, you can learn what others have discovered much faster than it took them to find it, so you can practically start where they spent all their life to get to! And while my teachers were great, you were taught by none other than the last Lord of Science!” He nearly smiled, but couldn’t quite do it.

Andest continued: “I don’t think you quite realize it, but in just a few decades, you will have learnt everything I know. Even with magic, when you started, you were only a fraction of my starting age. It won’t take that many years for you to become just as knowledgeable and powerful as I am now – and you will have the rest of your life to get even better!” He was right: it was hard for Owanl to believe that, but he had been right so many times that she felt that she could just believe him now.

Andest dropped his hand. “Now, on your vision. It seems that you didn’t see us stopping the meteor”. This was a shock to Owanl. “But… I saw…” “…me handing you a light that you sent to space. We didn’t stop the meteor; we merely asked for help. If only I had realized this earlier…” Owanl felt hurt. “I’m sorry, Andest”. Andest shook his head. “Don’t blame yourself… the most important prophecies have always been the hardest to decipher”.

He pointed at the backpack. “Now, I’ll give the light to you. For once, the gods smile on us”. He knelt right beside the bag. Owanl knelt next to him. “Remember what I told you about our friends in the stars?” Andest asked. Owanl nodded. “Well, one of them – the Chozo – built a monitoring station on Elysia”. Owanl’s eyes widened. “On Elysia? Have they been spying on us all this time?”

“I don’t think so”, Andest answered. “I believe that we’ve been so close to them that they have ignored us in favor of harder targets. They could have tracked us all this time, but we’ve been so easy that we’ve been ignored. That meteor of your vision, on the other hand, is much more interesting. When it hits Bryyo, they will notice it, and they will get here to take a closer look. This is our chance”.

Owanl swallowed. She’d have to represent their planet and their species to the aliens. “How will I contact them?” Andest was silent for a while. “We can’t risk your life on the first contact, or on the meteor… You must leave them a message. You must also show them that we still remember them and want to work together, so you will also leave them helpful gifts”.

He opened the backpack and pulled out a portable computer. “This computer contains everything your will need on your trip, such as maps and books on animals and plants of Bryyo. The battery is here”, he pointed at a part of the computer, “so remember to keep it charged with your magic. Don’t waste electricity! It also contains the message – the light of your vision”. He opened a map. “I’ve split the massage in twelve parts. Paint them all over Bryyo’s hotside, but put at least some here, in the ruins of our Royal city”. He pointed at a highlighted part of the map.

“If they find just one piece, it will spark their curiosity, and I’m certain they will try to find the rest, too”. He took out some other ancient technology from the backpack. “These items were either gifts from the Chozo or copies of them. They can be used to make Chozo battle armors stronger. They will encourage them to search even further. Hide them where the Primals can’t find them!”

He then took a new object from the bag. “This was the greatest gift the Chozo ever gave us… Their signature weapon… the Screw Attack! Only a select few have ever left Chozo hands. Long ago, I rescued it from the Hall of Remembrance in the Imperial Tomb. You must take it back and put it in its original resting place, to show that we still respect them and want to be their friends again”.

The Screw Attack

Owanl looked at the Screw Attack. This was really something extremely important? It did look somewhat nice, but how could this be used to damage people, apart from smashing them with it? Andest continued: “Place the final part of the message there as well. That’s the most important part, and I’m sure that the Chozo will not leave the Imperial Tomb unchecked”. He switched his position. “To get to the Imperial Tomb, you must use a Warp Site located here”. He pointed at another marking on the map.

Owanl nodded. Andest said: “Once you have placed everything, you can go to the safe house near the tomb. It’s also marked on the map”. Andest put the computer back to the bag and pulled out two other objects. One resembled a long tube; the other a flat disc.

Andest shook the tube first. “This is a beam rifle. We took inspiration from the beam cannons that the Chozo integrated into their battle suits. While this rifle is not as versatile as the cannons, it doesn’t require a suit or any special training to use. It also charges itself with everything from surrounding thermal energy, to the static electricity in the air, to magic and your own movement, so ammunition will not be an issue unless you go out of your way to waste shots”.

He handed the rifle to Owanl. It felt solid in her hands. She had studied different weapons before, so she already knew how to use the rifle. Andest then showed her the disc. “This is a force field generator. It charges itself like the rifle, but you can also quickly charge it with magic, like the computer’s battery”. He took a pause to empathize his next point: “It will not make you invulnerable, but it might give you a second chance. Hopefully you will never need it”. 

Andest walked closer to Owanl and attached the generator to her belt. Owanl felt a peculiar tingle as the force field enveloped her. Andest took a few steps back and stretched. “As for the other things I’ve packed for you, there’s a knife, some canned food, a long rope, medical supplies and so forth; you know how to use them. There’s also some winter clothing for the coldside”. He closed the backpack and gave it to Owanl.

Owanl put her own bag inside it and then put the backpack on. It felt rather heavy, but it was far from the only thing weighing on her. “You are now ready to go”, Andest said. He looked at Owanl with pride. “I’m sure you will not fail!” “I will not let you down!” Owanl said. They hugged again. Andest added: “I will disable this portal once you are through, to prevent the Primals from using it”.

He paused. “Oh, and before you go, if – when – you return here – after all this is over – everything here is your property. I will have no use for it”. He started coughing, which was the closest he could get to laughing. Owanl smiled too. Everything felt so surreal. She had at some point walked into the portal. Andest waved to her and said: “Goodbye, Owanl B-Shar! May the gods watch over you!” Owanl shouted reflexively back: “Goodbye, Andest C-Vivr!” Andest pulled a lever, and Owanl flew through spacetime.

### Temple Grounds, planet Aether, one year after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

T-Fme was on an adventure! He was looking for hidden treasures – and it looked like he had just found something! He dug through the dirt and finally picked it up. It was a piece of a War Wasp Hive! The War Wasps that had invaded the Temple Grounds had been moved back to Agon some time ago, and all emptied hives had been destroyed to hinder further invasions. Someone had forgotten to dispose this part; then again, a piece this small would cause no harm if left on the ground.

An Aetherian War Wasp

T-Fme examined the piece. It was very though, and slightly heavier than a similar piece of another species’ hives. War Wasps needed to sleep a lot, so a safe home was a necessity for them. A Hive this durable would keep them safe from pretty much any predator. T-Fme had heard that it had taken considerable effort to break the nests.

T-Fme looked up. The ruins of a Hive were still visible, but without constant care from the Wasps, it would erode over time. It was too high for him, so there was no point in staying here. T-Fme started sneaking. He slowly creeped along a small cliff towards the landing site.

He peeked over a rock. There the spaceship was! Some adults, Luminoth and human alike, were further away talking. T-Fme moved under the new staircase. What a great place to hide! There were so many holes that seeing outside was still possible, but so few that the place was very dark, at least compared to the outside.

Someone walked down the stairs. T-Fme stood still in the shadows. Nobody had still noticed him. The newcomer pointed at a bunch of crates near the big cliff. Everyone turned and started walking towards them. Now was his chance! T-Fme rushed silently in the other direction, towards another set of crates. He reached them in no time and pressed his back on one of them.

He inched to the edge of the crate and took a peek. The adults had now gotten to the crates and had opened one of them. What were the crates holding, exactly? Maybe he could check it out later… but right now, it was time to move forward again. Everyone was looking almost exactly to the opposite direction from him.

T-Fme now rushed to the nearby cliff and climbed it up. He was no in a small nearby cave. There was an old holoprojector on the wall, but time and combat had broken it. Nobody had yet had time to fix it, as there were still many more important things to do first. T-Fme wondered what the projector’s image looked like. Most likely it was an abstract picture that simply looked pretty… but maybe it’d show a real picture. He’d have to come back later to find out.

T-Fme climbed up another small cliff, walked over the path to Sanctuary Cliff and dropped down a third little cliff. He was now at the other end of the cave. There he noticed something interesting: yet another pile of crates was right next to the spaceship. If he could jump really far, he could get on top of them… and then jump on top of the spaceship!

Why not try right now? What’s the worst that could happen?

T-Fme walked back to the cave and turned around. He started running towards the crated, and jumped as well as he could. His feet didn’t quite reach the crate, but he managed to grab a hold of the crate and pull himself up. Unfortunately, hitting the crate was rather noisy, and a nearby human noticed him. “Hey! Stop right there!”

T-Fme decided to ignore the human for now. There was much less room on top of the crate, but he could still take some steps before his next jump. He slammed on the ship. The ship’s hull was somewhat slippery, but in this position, he wouldn’t fall. He crawled forward until he reached the top of the ship, where the hull was not a slope.

“Don’t go there! It’s dangerous!” T-Fme glanced at the human. “I’ll be careful!” He quickly turned around and jogged to the other end of the ship. The ship was sitting next to a tall cliff. T-Fme stopped and looked to the horizon. The view was breathtaking. He could see so far! At this point, everyone had noticed him. “Get to the other end of the ship right now!” someone shouted. While getting so high was exciting, and examining spaceships was fun, there really wasn’t much to do on the surface of the ship. T-Fme didn’t want to get shouted too much, so he ran to the ship’s front.

He stopped running at the edge of the ship. Unfortunately, the hull was somewhat dusty there, so he kept sliding forward. His feet quickly reached the slope on the hull, and he begun to pick up speed. Before he even realized what had happened, T-Fme was in the air. The entire world started spinning around him. Suddenly, everything went black.

### The Great Temple, planet Aether, a few days later

“I just can’t do it!” A-Qar cried in frustration. She had taken care of the injured boy for a long while, and now it seemed it was all for nothing. She had healed T-Fme’s body, but he just refused to wake up. U-Mos put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her closer. She leaned her head on him. “Don’t be so hard on yourself”, U-Mos said. “You have done everything you could. This is just one of those times when there’s nothing to be done”.

U-Mos had also tried to help. He had tried to look into T-Fme’s mind, to pull him back to the surface. So far, all he could sense were the mandatory brain activity to keep a body alive, such as breathing and having heart pump. Even a normally sleeping person, as well as most animals, had more going on in their heads.

A-Qar kept leaning on U-Mos. She sobbed a bit. “Do you want to tell his parents yourself?” U-Mos asked. A-Qar moved away from U-Mos. “Yes… I’ll… I’ll do it. I’ll need to check the other patients first…” A-Qar replied. She started walking out of the room. “A-Qar…” U-Mos said. She turned around. “Don’t work overtime today. You need to sleep too”. A-Qar nodded. “You need to sleep too, U-Mos”, she said before leaving. U-Mos sighed. She was right, naturally.

As U-Mos was heading to the Temple Grounds, a trooper told him that K-Ror wanted to speak with him. U-Mos turned around and took the lift in Controller Transport. Once the lift reached the top, U-Mos exited the door. The fresh air of the Main Energy Controller was refreshing like cool mountain air. U-Mos had clearly spent too much time indoors lately.

K-Ror had come here some time ago. U-Mos had told that A-Qar and he shouldn’t be disturbed when they were helping T-Fme, and anyone with something important to say should come here. K-Ror was sitting by one of the pillars, leaning his back on it. “Hello. What was on your mind, K-Ror?” U-Mos asked. K-Ror didn’t respond. U-Mos noticed that his eyes were closed. Was he really sleeping? “K-Ror!” U-Mos shouted.

The shout waked K-Ror. His eyes opened quickly. “I’m not sleeping!” K-Ror said. “Oh”. He stood up. “Sentinel!” He bowed, struggling to keep his balance. He looked awful. If U-Mos had had too little sleep lately, K-Ror had apparently had no sleep whatsoever. “What’s wrong? Can’t you sleep?” U-Mos asked. Whatever it was, it looked serious.

The question pushed away all remnants of sleep from K-Ror. Now U-Mos started to hear his thoughts. If he thought so hard, something had to be badly wrong. Disturbingly, U-Mos was unable to make sense of his thoughts. They were… fragmented, disjointed. Right now, K-Ror was incapable of thinking clearly. Negative emotions clouded his mind: fear, confusion… guilt? Why guilt? What had he done?

K-Ror blinked. “I think I could sleep, but… I’ve had a lot in my mind”. He shook his head to keep himself awake. “It’s just… I’ve always tried to do the right thing. But now… now… thanks to my previous… decisions… I must now choose between two wrong choices”. K-Ror’s eyes closed and his head dropped. He quickly twitched back. “What should I do, Sentinel?”

U-Mos would gladly help, but he had no idea what kind of problem K-Ror had. Surely it couldn’t be anything related to farming. He smiled and said: “If you have only bad choices, you must choose the least bad one. If you need help choosing, you need to tell me more”. K-Ror started talking with a flat voice. It was unclear if he had heard U-Mos. “I heard about T-Fme. Terrible thing. I… might have a… way… to help… kind of… but you’re not going to like it… Not at all…”

Now K-Ror had U-Mos’ total attention. T-Fme’s condition was one of his biggest problems right now, and he would take any help he could get. Did K-Ror remember an old healing trick? He put his hands on K-Ror’s shoulders. “If you can help T-Fme in any way, tell me”. K-Ror looked away from U-Mos. “It’s not… exactly that. I don’t think I can heal him, but… maybe… I could give you and A-Qar more time. And if you fail… it’s a consolidation prize”.

K-Ror’s words puzzled U-Mos. “What do you mean by ‘consolidation prize’?” K-Ror turned his head again. Now he looked at his feet. “We’re… We’re an endangered species. We can’t lose any more of us, can we? So if we can’t heal T-Fme, if his body would keep functioning, it’d be better than nothing, right?” U-Mos nodded. “Yes. That would be better than nothing. But how are you planning to do that? Are you going to put a machine inside him?” Since when had K-Ror known how to make machines?

K-Ror’s mandibles shivered. He was very nervous. “Well… I’ve been tinkering lately… and doing some other things… Would you really be okay with that?” “Yes”, U-Mos replied. “If it can be reversed, I don’t see any reason why not”. His answer didn’t seem to calm K-Ror. “Really? As long as it can be reversed? Would you even be okay with putting a friendly Ing inside him?”

That was a much tougher question, but… “Yes, if it really is friendly”. K-Ror just stood in silence, still avoiding U-Mos’ eyes. “Why did you want to–” Suddenly a realization flooded over U-Mos. His body went numb. He distantly felt his grip tighten. “K-Ror… have you been hiding a living Ing?” he asked with a cold voice. K-Ror started shaking. “I said that you wouldn’t like it!”

“You. Did. What!” U-Mos shouted. He shoved K-Ror backwards, towards the pillar. After the impact, K-Ror just stood still, leaning on said pillar. “Did you think at all what you were doing?!” U-Mos kept shouting. “You could have died! You could have let that monster hurt so many people!” U-Mos hadn’t been this angry for a long time. K-Ror looked at him with empty eyes. “He was just a child… He was dying… I just tried to do the right thing…” He was on the verge of tears.

“And you didn’t tell anyone! You should have told! We should have finished that thing off and rid Aether – no, the entire universe – from that threat for once and for all!” U-Mos couldn’t believe how K-Ror could have thought that saving a monster was a good idea. K-Ror spoke with a silent voice: “So, I should have just murdered a child for the crime of being born to the wrong species. I thought that we were better than that. That we’re not like them”.

Something rare happened to U-Mos: he was at a loss of words. K-Ror was right… even if they were talking about an Ing. U-Mos had to ask one more thing: “How long have you hid the Ing?” K-Ror’s antennae straightened a bit. “Since the victory celebration”. That was a surprise. “Really? That long? And it’s never done anything bad to you?” K-Ror shook his head.

U-Mos sighed. That particular Ing didn’t seem to be a threat. And it was just one Ing. The last Ing in existence. Their strength was their numbers; it can’t do that much damage. And K-Ror was right: they couldn’t lose anyone, especially children. U-Mos felt his rage dissipate. “Fine. You can take T-Fme with you. But if that Ing does anything…” He didn’t need to finish. K-Ror was visibly relieved “Thank you, Sentinel! I agree, he must act properly”.

He stepped away from the pillar. “I also need two other things, to make sure everything goes well”. U-Mos breathed in. “Very well. Name them”. K-Ror named the items. They surprised U-Mos, although in the hindsight he should have guessed.

### The Agon Wastes, planet Aether

K-Ror walked into his house. The Ing had been waiting for him. He jumped down from the bed and greeted K-Ror: “You’re back! Did you get what you wanted?” “I did!” K-Ror said cheerfully. “U-Mos gave me everything I asked for!” He sat down on the floor. “It might be for the best if you stood a bit further away, just in case”.

The darkling stepped away. K-Ror took out the two objects he had requested. Now they were tied together. “Is that one of your Crystals?” the Ing asked. “Yes, one of the Light Crystals we used to protect ourselves on your planet. And this”, he tapped at the other object, “is a Dark Beam”. The Ing took a step back. “W-Why did you bring a Light Crystal and a weapon with you?”

A Light Crystal

“Well…” K-Ror said as he turned the crystal-beam-combo in his hands, “On Dark Aether, shooting a Light Crystal with a Dark Beam nullifies it, as the Crystal is charged with dark energy. It can be reactivated with a blast of non-dark energy. But on Aether… the Crystal does nothing in its current state. It’s effectively nullified. So if it were charged with dark energy…” He pulled the trigger on the Dark Beam.

The Dark Beam hummed to life. The Crystal changed its color from light blue to very dark purple, and a cloud of darkness enveloped it. The Crystal sent out a bubble of energy. In a flash, the bubble covered almost all of K-Ror’s side of the house, centered on the Crystal. This bubble was not bright, like the ones the Crystals had produced on Dark Aether: it was dark, and K-Ror felt the air temperature drop around him.

A Nullified Crystal

“…it would create a negative bubble. One that would keep out the Light of Aether”, he finished. The Ing’s eye widened. “Amazing…” K-Ror continued explaining: “This Dark Beam has been modified. It is now almost useless as a weapon, but it can be used to keep the Crystal charged for a long time: the Light of Aether will, sooner or later, clear the dark energy. The Crystal must be continually supplied with more dark energy to keep the bubble up. A much simpler change than one might think”.

K-Ror knelt and offered the Crystal. The bubble moved with it. “Go ahead, try it!” The Ing slowly walked to the edge of the bubble. He lifted his right frontal leg and carefully put its tip into the bubble. “Doesn’t hurt…” He put his leg down and walked into the bubble. “This feels… quite good”. K-Ror smiled. “Just as I had hoped. It works on you just like it worked on us”.

K-Ror stood up. “It’s yours. You are the only one with any use for them”. The Ing looked up. “Really? Thank you, K-Ror!” K-Ror pushed the Crystal to the darkling. “But now… we’re going to have to do one thing… and it will be scary to you. But it will be worth it”. He paused. “You’re going to have to get out of that Splinter”.

The request froze the Ing. “But if I get out I’ll –” he started to protest, but K-Ror interrupted him: “Nothing bad is going to happen to you; that’s why I brought the Crystal. But just to be safe, let’s tie that Splinter down, so it won’t flee”. The Ing agreed to this, and K-Ror fetched a rope. Soon, the Ing was tied to the table and the bed, just to be sure. “Get out as soon as you are ready”, K-Ror said.

The Splinter started smoking. The smoke was pitch-black, with some red and yellow embers. As more smoke exited the Splinter, it got lighter, and its eye turned blue. The Dark Splinter was now just a typical Splinter. The smoke had curled up into a ball, and it quickly descended to the floor. Once it reached the floor, the smoke turned into a thick, black puddle. And from the puddle, a small Warrior Ing climbed out. He was clearly just a child, barely larger than the Splinter he had inhabited for a year and a half.

“At least the Crystal is working fine”, he said. Even now, he bore a striking resemblance to a Dark Splinter: the main difference was that now he had five legs. K-Ror knelt next to him. “Look”, he said, “I don’t have any problems with you looking like that. It doesn’t matter to me that you’re an Ing. But it’s not safe for you to be in your current form. The Light of Aether will hurt you. So… wait here for a bit”.

K-Ror stood up and walked outside. When he got back inside, he was carrying T-Fme. “What is he doing here? Why is he sleeping?” the Ing asked. “This is T-Fme”, K-Ror explained. “Some time ago, he fell and hurt himself and he hasn’t woken since, no matter what A-Qar – our healer – and U-Mos have tried. It looks like he isn’t going to wake up”.

The Ing was now even more confused. “But if even they can’t heal him, why did you –”. He stopped as he realized the answer. He continued silently: “Is… Is he for… me?” “Yes”, K-Ror said. “We really shouldn’t let him go to waste. You can take care of him much better than anyone else”. The Ing took nervously a few steps in place, until he asked carefully: “Can I… Can I go in?” K-Ror nodded.

The Ing dropped into a puddle again, the puddle evaporated into smoke, and the smoke entered T-Fme. T-Fme darkened, much like the Splinter before, and opened his eyes – now much brighter in color. He blinked a few times. K-Ror looked at him intensively and said: “You are a Dark Luminoth now. You can now work like everyone else, so you will work like everyone else. Namely you will help me on the farm. But, now that you no longer need to hide”, his look softened, “we can be a… family, if you want”.

A Dark Luminoth?

The darkling sat up. He inspected his hands closely, carefully moving his fingers. He then started speaking: “Do you think that… at some point, in the future… it might be possible... that I could…” He looked directly at K-Ror’s eyes. His face was beaming with excitement. “… fight the other kids?!” The excitement had made him breathe rapidly. K-Ror quickly answered. “Absolutely not!”

The Ing‘s antennae lowered. “Oh”. He sounded very disappointed. “It’s fine, I can –” K-Ror interrupted him again. He put his hand on his shoulder. “Our children don’t fight. They play”. The Ing looked at him in confusion. “T-Fme knows that word… but I can’t understand what it is exactly. It seems to mean many things”. He sounded lost. “Don’t worry, I’ll show you soon”, K-Ror comforted him. The Ing smiled. “Thank you, K…” He changed his mind. “…dad”.

K-Ror took his hand off the Ing’s shoulder. “Well… son… if you want to play with the others, you will need a name. All Luminoth get theirs shortly after they’re born”. The Ing stared at him. “How is the name decided then? I don’t know many Luminoth names…” “In almost all cases, the parents decide it, but since you are already so old, you can say if you are okay with the name, too”.

K-Ror thought about a while. “The last part of a Luminoth name comes from the parents. Ror, in my case. The first part is a single letter, to differentiate the family members”. He looked at the Dark Luminoth. “And… since this child’s name was T-Fme… you could use his letter. So, your name would be… T-Ror. Is that okay?” The darkling thought for a while. “T-Ror… I like it. Okay, I’ll be T-Ror!”


	6. Towards night

### Background music: [ Bryyo Ice ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9Gq0pwyjIA)  
  
Planet Bryyo, some years ago 

Owanl flew through the intradimensional tunnel, unable to move. After a short flight, she exited the tunnel and returned to her homeworld. She was still in the same position as she had been when Andest had activated the portal. She inhaled sharply. Owanl hadn’t felt any need to breathe in the tunnel, but now she obviously needed to breathe. The sudden trip through another dimension had made her feel dizzy.

“Andest…” she whispered. She then realized that, in a few days at most, Andest would die, and that she would never meet him again. “ANDEST!” Owanl shouted as she fell on the floor. She started crying. Owanl had never felt herself so lonely. Andest was the last Reptilicus on Bryyo that didn’t consider her an enemy… and now everything was up to her.

Owanl cried on the ground for a while, but eventually she pulled herself together. She slowly forced herself back on her feet. “I can’t stay here and cry”, she said to herself. “I’m on a quest to save Bryyo!” But this quest was different from the others: usually, the gods gave quests to mortals, but Owanl had received her current quest from a friend. As his dying wish, no less. It was far more personal.

Owanl took out her map and started studying it. She could quickly locate the portal site on the map and orient herself. This would be a long journey… but it’s not like she had much choice. She had made her choices ages ago, and now she would have to live with them. Even if it felt heavy, Owanl still fully believed that she had made the right choices.

And so Owanl started her journey. After the portal site had left her vision, she fired the rifle to test it. Yellow bolts of energy struck the surrounding rocks and plants. Not the most powerful weapon, but then again it was never meant to be. It was easy to aim, the shots moved rather fast, it could be fired as fast as Owanl could pull the trigger and it needed pretty much no maintenance. Having a weapon like that made a Primal like Owanl feel much safer.

“Struggle of Exiles”

Despite her firepower, Owanl tried to stay hidden. While she could best even the greatest Primal warriors in combat, enough of them might still overwhelm her. And Andest had been right: killing too many Primals would doom their species. And while the rifle had many advantages for someone as inexperienced in shooting as her, stealth was not one of them.

It didn’t take Owanl too long to reach the first milestone of her travels: an ancient Reptilicus city. The city as shown on the map had looked large, but only once she saw it did Owanl realize just how large it really was. If it were restored to its former glory, every single living Reptilicus could live there! But it was just one of their cities: Owanl also began to understand how many lives the war had claimed. More than she could imagine, that’s for sure.

Over the centuries, the surrounding jungle had taken over the city. This suited Owanl really well: after all, she had grown in a jungle. She knew exactly how to survive there. All buildings were effectively just odd-shaped rocks and mountains. And now she didn’t need to rely on chakrams and knifes: she had a beam rifle and a force field!

Owanl decided to start hunting. She had no idea how easy finding food would be in the future, so she wanted to eat her canned food only in an emergency. She quickly found some hoppers and shot one of them, scaring the others away. Owanl then fled the area: there was no telling who or what had heard her shots. She cooked the hopper on a fire (that she ignited with a real magic this time) and ate most of it. The remaining pieces would make good snacks later.

After putting out the fire, Owanl took out a paintbrush and some cans of paint and painted one of the messages Andest had written on a nearby wall, and finished it with a protective spell. She also hid one of the artefacts nearby. After finishing this first part of her work, Owanl felt tired, and so she looked out for a place to sleep. The old buildings were full of hiding places, and she quickly chose one of them. 

Owanl crawled into the hole after she had secured the area with defensive spells. The cave wasn’t that big, but it didn’t need to be. It had enough room for her and her backpack. Once she had finally put the backpack down, Owanl wrapped into her sleeping bag. The bag made even a cave like this comfortable. She wished she had had something like it when she had made her journey to warn Andest.

After some time had passed, Owanl woke up, feeling rested. She ate the rest of the hopper, rolled the sleeping bag tight and put it away, put her backpack on again and continued her quest. She travelled across the ancient city and the surrounding jungle, hunting, painting and hiding the artefacts along her tracks. She visited all places Andest had marked on her map.

Owanl’s backpack started to get empty. While she had avoided eating her canned food for the most part, the artefacts were now hidden across the land. Andest’s message was also now painted on the walls everywhere. Owanl hoped that at least some of them would survive. The spells should help, but, like her force field, they didn’t make the paintings invincible. Now Owanl had only one thing to do: head to the portal that would move her to the Imperial Tomb.

Once she got close to the portal, Owanl suddenly shivered. The air around here was chilly, for some reason. Now Owanl took some things from her bag for the first time: “winter clothes”, as Andest had called them. The jungle was warm, perhaps even hot. Owanl hadn’t really needed to wear clothing for warmth ever before. The only times she had really gotten cold had been when it had rained and everything was wet.

The new clothes felt very different from the Science Lord clothes she had used for a long time: they were heavy and they slightly restricted her movement. They also made her feel a lot warmer, even uncomfortably so. Good thing that she had read about hypothermia: that was not something she wished to experience, so she was willing to tolerate some extra heat. If it got too hot, she could always use magic.

Luckily for Owanl, as she moved even closer to the portal, the air got even colder. The floor and ceiling near the walls had some kind of substance she had never seen before. Owanl knelt near one pile of the stuff and touched it with her bare hand. She quickly retracted her hand, as the stuff was so cold that the sudden touch stung a little. ‘I’ve read about this substance’, Owanl thought. ‘It’s called ‘ice’… but powdered ice, like this pile on the ground, is referred as ‘snow’’.

Since she wasn’t in a hurry, Owanl wanted to confirm her thoughts. She lowered her muzzle right next to the snow and blew a few times. Now she noticed another new thing: she could see her breath, as every exhale produced a small cloud of mist. The snow on the area where her breathing hit started to disappear. Owanl took some of the slush on her hand (not that she knew it was called that) and blew again. The slush melted into water.

‘It really is just solid water!’ Owanl thought triumphantly. Apparently, the rain in really cold places – such as the coldside – was made of snow, instead of liquid water. And since it was a solid, it would not flow into rivers or be absorbed into the soil: it would just stay there, for who knows how long. The coldside had to be covered in this snow, as well as regular ice.

In the next room, Owanl saw a ceremonial golem and a battering ram used to ring a nearby gong. But the gong was not in a place where the ram could hit it. On the other hand, the place where the ram would hit had a cracked wall. Owanl took out her map and read the instructions Andest had given. The site had been used for many kinds of ceremonies, including Imperial burials, so the room wasn’t difficult to use. You just couldn’t screw up anything like that!

First, Owanl prepared the room for operation. Then, she headed to the wall. This part of the wall was not a part of the room’s original design: the Lords of Science had built it during the war to hinder Primal movement. The coldside hadn’t existed back then; during that time, Bryyo had rotated. There was a small hole in the wall. Owanl could barely fit through it.

When Owanl had reached the other side and brought all of her belongings with her, she could start to cover her tracks. First, she rotated the walls. This covered the cracked wall with the gong. Next, she operated the golem. It grabbed the ram and slammed it to the gong with great force. The impact made a truly magnificent sound! More importantly, it hid the controls on the floor. Now the walls were locked in place.

After locking the walls, Owanl lifted the ram to the ceiling with another spell. Maybe the next visitors would fail to notice it. Finally, she placed a piece of the wall back to its spot and fixed it in place with a spell and some ice. Now she would be much harder to follow.

Owanl turned around. Frost crunched under her boots. This was the coldest spot yet. There was the portal, just like the portals she had already used, but this one was surrounded by ice, snow and frost. Owanl swallowed. When Andest had activated the portal, she was at least thrown into a familiar environment. But beyond this portal stood an environment so alien that it might as well be in another planet.

‘There’s no turning back now’, she thought. ‘I will finish this! Good that I saved so much food. I should easily make it to the hideout. And water won’t be an issue, if there’s as much snow and ice there as I fear’. Owanl checked her rifle and that her backpack was properly tied. Once satisfied, she walked to the portal and vanished from the hotside of Bryyo.

### Imperial Tomb, planet Bryyo

Owanl materialized into Warp Site Bravo on Bryyo’s coldside. As soon as she was fully in her home dimension, she gasped in surprise. The air here was so much colder than in the other side of the portal. She could feel the bite of the cold even through her winter clothes. ‘I’m not going to spend any more time in this cold than I must! I’ll move as fast as I can!’

Owanl quickly walked to the only door in the room and entered the Imperial Caverns. She could sense the ancient enchantments that were meant to protect the royal remains from grave robbers. Good thing that she was going to give the Tomb more treasures, not take them away. Her first obstacle turned out to be a sheet of ice blocking her way down. Owanl shot it a few times, but even charged blasts had no effect.

Frustrated, she put down her back and started looking for her computer. But before she found it, she had an idea. Owanl started charging another blast, but instead of firing it right away, she held the charge. Now for the experiment: she cast a fire spell, the one she always used to light a fire, on the sphere of energy in the muzzle of her rifle. The sphere roared and changed its color from bright yellow into bright orange. Owanl could feel the heat of the shot very clearly.

Owanl carefully pointed her rifle at the center of the ice sheet and released the blast. The blast impacted with much greater force than before and melted the sheet. Steam filled the air with a hissing sound. “Yes!” Owanl shouted triumphantly. Now she was free to go… but the drop to the next floor was uncomfortably long.

That was no problem for Owanl. She dug out her rope and let one end fall to the bottom. Another spell, and the rope stayed up even without her holding it. Owanl put her backpack on again and tested the rope. It felt solid. She carefully climbed down. Once in the bottom, she released the spell, and the rope fell down. The floor below was identical to the floor above, except that it didn’t have a door. All Owanl had to do was to repeat what she had already done to reach the bottom.

Once she had reached the bottom, she rolled the rope into a coil and placed it over her shoulder. She had already studied the maps of the Tomb before and knew that it would soon come handy. Constant spellcasting had made her tired, so Owanl opened a can of food and started eating; hoping that eating here wasn’t too disrespectful.

After finishing her meal, she continued her journey to the Imperial Crypt. Twenty eight former emperors and empresses rested here. This place really creeped Owanl. It felt like all of them were judging her… and found her unworthy to be here. To Owanl’s horror, some of the tombs were broken, revealing the skeleton inside. Owanl quickly ran across the room, praying that she wouldn’t get cursed.

She reached the door with no events whatsoever. The room had been completely immobile. The next room – the Hall of Remembrance – was what she had tried to reach for so long. This was the place where the Screw Attack belonged. Owanl marveled at the sight. Two mighty statues, one Reptilicus, one Chozo, guarded the Tomb. How could her people have forgotten all this?

But this was no time to stand around. She felt even colder. There was a bridge across the chasm down below, with a separate star-shaped platform at its center. The platform was held by a statue depicting emperor N’Ge receiving the gift of knowledge from the Chozo De’la.

Owanl slid to the lower level with her rope and walked to the platform. Not all the way – there were some gaps in the bridge, so Owanl used her rope to get safely across. This was it! The rightful place of the Screw Attack! Owanl took the Screw Attack out of her backpack and looked at it. In its own way, it was kind of beautiful. It also felt much heavier than she remembered.

She carefully placed the Screw Attack on the center of the platform. It did feel like a right place. “Hopefully whoever finds you and your friends appreciates my efforts”, she said to the ancient weapon. The Screw Attack, of course, stayed still, gently humming.

The Screw Attack in the Hall of Remembrance

Owanl walked to the other side of the room and entered the Tower. The Tower was a simple room, just a vertical shaft that allowed access to the upper level of the Hall of Remembrance. Owanl used her rope again to reach the top, although climbing up was much more exhausting and time-consuming than sliding down. Before leaving the Tower, Owanl left her second-last artefact there.

When she returned to the Hall of Remembrance, Owanl noticed that she was at the same height as the head of the Reptilicus statue. There was an empty spot in its crown. ‘That’s a perfect place for the last artefact!’ Owanl thought and threw her rope to it. After the rope stood still, Owanl carefully balanced on it and slowly creeped to the crown. She placed the last artefact on the crown, where it looked like a crown jewel.

Feeling satisfied with her work, Owanl slowly crawled back to the door where she had first entered the Hall of Remembrance, once more using her rope and some magic. She entered again the Imperial Crypt. Once more, she hurried to the other door, but this time, the Crypt felt less terrifying. Maybe the royals were satisfied with her gifts.

In the Imperial Caverns, Owanl immediately noticed a smooth wall. A perfect place for the last piece of Andest’s writings. She put her backpack down and took out her paintbrush and started painting the last part of the message, titled “Our Plea”. She made extra sure that this picture was perfect. Upon finishing the image, she felt rather tired.

“Our Plea”

Owanl stared at the finished painting for a while. It looked exactly like she wanted, but something was missing... something that told a bit more, something that told about the paintings themselves. She had an idea. She stomped the snow in the floor right below the picture smooth. She then carefully melted the snow into slush with fire magic. She then held her paintbrush the wrong way and wrote two lines on the slush. She paused, looked at the text, and then added a third line. The snow now said:

 _Fall of Bryyo_  
_Written by Andest C-Vivr, the last Lord of Science_  
_Painted by Owanl B-Shar, the final Lord of Science_

The slush had already started freezing. Owanl stared at what she had written. Suddenly, she started giggling. ‘Why did I write this? I’m the only one alive who knows how to read our language… and once I’m gone, the meaning of those words is lost forever’. She looked up. The ice sheets she had broken were already forming again. Must be this place’s magic.

Exhausted and hungry, Owanl opened her map. She quickly found a route to the nearby Science Lord hideout. She started strolling towards her new home.

### Bryyo’s coldside, some years ago

Owanl saw the entrance to the hideout on the side of the mountain. She opened the heavy door that was meant to keep the cold outside. Despite the door, it was just as cold inside as it was outside. It had been ages since anyone had lived there, and all warmth there had once been had long since escaped. Owanl dropped her backpack on the frost-covered floor and sighed out of relief. Finally, she was safe.

She took a can and a flashlight and started eating while she examined the room. There was a table at the center and some chairs around it; perfect for eating. A couple of beds were sitting next to the walls. They would be much more comfortable once they weren’t covered in frost. Some bookshelves, lockers and cupboards that held most of the smaller items. A place to cook, with a stove and an oven. Two doors: one leading into a bathroom, the other into the core of the mountain. And, most importantly, a heater!

Owanl went to the heater and finished her can. It was frozen solid. She tried turning it on, but it was no use. She opened the fuel tank. All Fuel Gel inside was frozen solid. Good that Owanl had still a little magic left. She once again started charging a blast with her rifle and enchanted said blast with fire. Instead of firing the blast, Owanl held the scorching ball near the heater.

Soon, the Fuel gel started melting. Owanl moved the rifle back and forth both to evenly melt the Gel inside the heater and to prevent accidently igniting the Gel. Frost began to vanish from the heater. Owanl heard cracking and clanking noises inside the heater – the Gel was almost completely liquid now. She then tried to turn the heater on again. This time she was successful, and a small flame appeared inside the machine.

Owanl straightened her back. Now all she had to do was to wait, and the room would warm up. Sadly, the rifle did not have a “cancel blast” –button, so she entered to the door leading inside the mountain and released the blast in the stone hallway. Because she had nothing better to do, Owanl decided to head further in and explore the hallway. There shouldn’t be anything too exciting, at least according to Andest’s map, but she wanted to see everything for herself.

As she headed further in, the air temperature started to increase. At first, it was just cold, as opposed to the bone-chilling freeze on the outside, but soon it was simply cool. The winter clothes she was wearing started to feel uncomfortably hot. Owanl took the extra clothes off. Now she felt really weird: too cold and too warm at the same time, but she didn’t feel sick.

There was a door on the hallway. Owanl entered it. The room inside was slightly warmer than the hallway, which now meant pretty warm. It was filled with racks from top to bottom, with very little room to walk between them. Each rack was filled with mushrooms. Owanl had read about them. They weren’t particularly tasty for a mushroom, but they needed only Fuel Gel and water to grow. Judging from the pipes and the smell, the room was still growing the mushrooms on its own. All Owanl would have to do was to pick them up.

Owanl closed the door to the mushroom farm and continued further. The air started to feel like a warm day. At that point, Owanl started to see light. She had reached the end of the tunnel. The tunnel ended in a large cave. Inside the cave was a gigantic lake of Fuel Gel. Some Gel Puffers floated lazily above it. The lake radiated heat, making the hall as hot as the desert of Bryyo’s hotside. Clearly, Owanl had even less worries of running out of fuel than she had about food. She stared at the slowly flowing Gel for a while before she headed back to the living area.

Fuel Gel in the Imperial Hall

The air around Owanl cooled as she approached the living area, but just before the door it got warmer again. The room itself was warm enough. The heater also doubled as a generator, so now Owanl could turn on the lights. It seemed like a good place to live. Owanl could spend here years… decades… centuries… Suddenly an intense feeling of loneliness and powerlessness flooded over her. She just couldn’t believe that she could finish Andest’s work and fix Bryyo. Perhaps one day she could fix the climate, but how could she ever restore Bryyo’s lost culture?

Owanl did the only thing she could: she prayed for the gods to show her any sign that she could succeed, any sign that everything she could do was not in vain. She heard no response. It wasn’t that surprising; the gods rarely answered to trivial pleas, but Owanl had hoped that her plight was something worth responding to. Perhaps they felt that the Reptilicus had failed them. Owanl could easily understand if they felt that. Feeling utterly exhausted, Owanl climbed into one of the beds and fell asleep almost instantly.

After falling completely to sleep, magical energy surged through Owanl’s body. Her mind awoke, but her body continued sleeping. ‘A prophecy?! What could it be about this time?’ she thought. Her last vision was the one that had guided her to Andest. Owanl prayed that this one would be a bit happier.

Owanl was in a garden. All sorts of plants grew there… or at least they used to grow. Now they all looked withered. Some were even rotting, if she saw correctly. Beyond the plants, Owanl could see the ground… far below. The garden was at the top of a mountain, or perhaps a tower. The land looked barren and desolate: the plants there were all small and completely dried up.

But far more horrifying was the sky: the sun was nowhere to be seen. The sky near the horizon in the direction where Owanl was looking was red instead of black, so the sun was just beyond the horizon. It provided just enough light to show how dead everything was. Despite the darkness, no stars could be seen. The biggest source of light was a small flame in the center of the garden.

Owanl was kneeling right in front if the flame. The flame was just about to go out. The thought of the flame dying terrified Owanl. She could handle anything except that. But the flame was still burning, and with it, hope. Owanl would keep it burning that no matter what! She added some nearby leaves and twigs to the flame. They ignited, but the flame didn’t grow.

Then Owanl noticed that she wasn’t alone in the garden: a man was standing near the edge of the garden. His head and tail were down. He looked thoroughly exhausted and… disappointed. “You have to help me!” Owanl shouted to the man. The man glanced over his shoulder and looked at Owanl. His look was filled with pain and grief. He turned back and clenched his fists in frustration.

Even if the man refused (or couldn’t) help, Owanl was still determined to not give up. She kept adding more twigs, leaves and grass to the flame, but despite her efforts, all she could do was to maintain it. She started to get desperate and was just about to start to panic when the man turned around, now completely. His eyes widened and he tilted his head in confusion. He opened his mouth, as if he was about to ask something.

Owanl heard a sound of something heavy dropping right beside her. She quickly turned around and looked at the source of the sound. There was a can of Fuel Gel and a stack of firewood right next to her! She picked up the can and a log, doused one end of the log in Fuel Gel and added it to the fire. The Fuel Gel ignited almost instantly, and the rest of the log would slowly but surely follow.

Owanl added a couple more Fuel Gel drenched logs to the flame. Now it was much bigger and healthier. She stood up. With all that Fuel Gel and firewood, it would stay burning for a long time. But who had given them to her? Owanl turned around to look and woke up.

For a short while, Owanl was confused about the sudden change. Once she realized that she was awake she shoot up from the bed and rushed to get something to write with. With trembling hands she wrote down every detail about her dream. After she was finished, Owanl stared at what she had just written. At this point, her entire body was shaking and she was breathing heavily. She was trying to decipher the meaning of the prophecy, but she was still very tired.

‘That garden on top of the mountain… it was the Garden of Light. And the man had to be its Keeper, Thalyys… But the Garden was so dark, and almost dead… just like Bryyo, and the Reptilicus, too. The Garden’s flame was about to go out. That’s what happens when the last child of Bryyo falls’. The thoughts gave her a sick feeling in her stomach, and she shivered.

‘But the flames are still burning, even if they are weak’. A realization flowed into Owanl. ‘And as long as one of Bryyo’s children refuses to give up, they won’t go out… and they can be restored to their former blaze or into something even more glorious!’ The text she had written started to look blurry. “And that child is me”, she whispered. “As long as I continue Andest’s work, I can fix everything!”

Owanl started to cry. Now she truly felt that she was able to do this, that what she did mattered. Hope felt good, even if it hurt a bit. She also felt heavy, as now she carried a tremendous responsibility. Everyone – her old tribe, her parents, Andest, Bryyo’s gods, all living Primals (even if they didn’t know she existed), every single Reptilicus that had ever lived was now counting on her to restore Bryyo.

Owanl prayed again, this time to thank the gods for giving her strength and hope. In particular, she thanked Thalyys and Pharandrin, Dreamer of the gods, whose mind all dreaming Reptilicus enter. He was, ultimately, the source of all prophecies and visions. Owanl wiped her tears and looked again at the written vision.

The last part of the vision was impossible to completely decipher. Obviously, someone – or something – would give her help, but there was no telling who they were. Judging from the confusion in Thalyys’ face, they most likely weren’t Reptilicus. Who would they be, then? The Chozo? Would they forgive her kin for failing to listen to them, for completely destroying the paradise Bryyo had been? Actions like that don’t reflect well on any species.

Furthermore, what kind of help would they give? Giving Fuel Gel and firewood was obviously symbolic, but what could be as useful for her current situation as those items were in making a fire? Of course, she had read that the Chozo had had amazing spells and gadgets, but it was unlikely that they could just magic and tech away any kind of problem instantly. If that was the case, they would never have let Bryyo and the Reptilicus to suffer for this long… right? Right?!

Owanl’s eyes slowly closed, then they snapped open. All this thinking had made her even more tired. Her eyes started closing again, and this time opening them was much harder. She wavered back to her bed and fell on it as soon as she touched it. She rolled a bit on the bed and finally succeeded in pulling the blanket on top of her. Owanl fell asleep even faster than before.

Owanl woke up full of strength and determination. After eating a breakfast, she started reading Andest’s notes. He had given detailed blueprints for the machines needed to fix Bryyo. He had also made exercises for her: casting helpful spells, making the parts of the machines, and, last but not least, making fully-functioning miniature versions of the machines.

First, Owanl studied all Andest’s notes on Reptilicus magic as well as the hideout’s books and files on all sorts of sciences. She then dutifully completed every exercise given to her. Once she had completed the miniature, she made a second one and took it apart. She rebuilt and took it apart over and over again, getting slightly faster every time. Owanl soon could make one from memory, and with remarkable speed. She repeated the process for every machine Andest had designed.

Between building the machines, Owanl also built a transmitter. She set it to send a universal “help us” –signal. She was much less certain about this creation, as she had found many kinds of blueprints for different kinds of transmitters. Owanl could easily get the signal from inside the room, but could it really reach the stars? Or at least Elysia; that’s where her help would come. They were supposed to have really powerful antennae back there, so hopefully this was enough. To conserve power, she turned the transmitter on and off every once in a while.

Of course, Owanl didn’t spend all of her time working. Often she would read or watch something. The Lords of Science had preserved so much of the ancient Reptilicus culture. Lots of the smaller details had been lost to the time, but with everything saved, Owanl felt that at some point, it might be possible to recreate almost all of it. If only she could understand all the references in the stories…

She wasn’t happy all of the time. Sometimes the loneliness would feel crushing. It tended to suck all strength and hope from her body. After the worst times, the ones that made her cry, Owanl often received the vision she had had when she had tried to sleep for the first time in the hideout. The visions were very comforting for her. One dream, however, was the complete opposite. She remembered nothing about it, except a terrible dread. When she woke up, she felt very sick. “It’s here”, Owanl mumbled to herself when she woke up. “The starborne death is here”. She had to carry on.

At this point, Owanl completely lost her track of time. When she still lived with her tribe, knowing when to eat and sleep was simple: just follow others. Andest had used clocks instead, and they always ate and slept at the same numbers. But now, nothing told Owanl when to do anything. She had no idea how long she had spent studying in the hideout.

But no amount of work and visions could truly remove her loneliness. On some rare occasions, Owanl spent her time in her memories. Her life as a Primal had been difficult, but simple. Just doing what the adults had told her to (or not, and play with the other children… like Skaan. Thinking about him still hurt). 

She also liked to think about her time with Andest. She could talk about anything with him and have a good conversation. He always had good answers to everything Owanl decided to ask, and he could often answer questions Owanl didn’t even know she had. A smaller thing she liked about him was knocking: at the camp, everyone just barged into her tent, but Andest always knocked her door and waited for her to ask him to enter. Even after all this time, she could hear the sound of knocking her door…

Suddenly Owanl became aware of something: she didn’t imagine the sound of knocking; someone really was knocking the door to her hideout!

### City of Glass, afterlife, some years ago

Andest felt completely weightless, but also that he was standing. He was unsure why he felt like that. Then he remembered: he had just been killed. ‘That’s it, then’, he thought. ‘Now it’s my turn to get used to being dead’. He had wondered for a while what the sun would look like. Of course he knew that the sun was a huge ball of gas and plasma, but that was in the realm of the living. In the afterlife, it most likely wouldn’t look the same. Andest opened his eyes.

Naturally, he didn’t have a body anymore. It had remained on Bryyo, where it would soon start rotting. He knew that he was just a soul, but he didn’t feel that different. He still looked like he had a body, and he retained all of his senses. The gods were nice like that. The first thing Andest saw was a light bright as… the sun. Obviously. Slowly, he could make out some details. He was in a small room. The room was very bright, despite there being no sources of light. Something about the room resembled a temple, a temple dedicated to Ekrosyys, Caretaker of the Dead. It also had faint similarities with a temple of the Lord Artisan, Arkithun.

He wasn’t alone in the room. Another man stood next to him, a man radiating glory, power and light. Andest knew instantly that the man was Ekrosyys. He dropped to his knees and bowed his head. He had no idea what he should say. After all, he had avoided Ekrosyys’ domain for a very long time, and denying gods was not a thing one should do. Hopefully the god would know that he was silent out of respect.

Ekrosyys spoke: “You sure took your time to get here. More than anyone else. Thalyys guarded you well”. He didn’t sound angry or judging; merely polite. “Forgive me, my Lord”, Andest began explaining. “I had… unfinished business to do”. Ekrosyys sighed. “I know. Everyone here knows. We all hoped that you would succeed… and you outdid everyone’s expectations”. Andest’s chest swelled with pride. How many mortals had received praise from a god?

Again, Andest was unable to speak. Fortunately, Ekrosyys could keep going: “Is something bothering you, Andest C-Vivr?” He sounded like he already knew his answer. Andest answered: “It’s just that… I thought that maybe I might have earned a place in the library of Ordyyn. Especially after what you told me”. Saying his thoughts out loud felt terrible. He had stayed out of the sun for so long, and the first thing he asked was to get out.

Luckily for him, that was exactly the answer Ekrosyys had expected. He took a deep breath and said: “Yes, the Chronicler of Ages just can’t stop talking about you. He always asks if I’m sure that you haven’t come yet. Well, now you have. You will enter his library… but first, you can talk with people. That’s what everyone always wants to do first”. “Thank you, Lord Ekrosyys” was all Andest could say. There were so many people that he wanted to speak with at least once.

### Great library, afterlife, some years ago

One moment, Andest was in the sun, the next, in the library. The good feeling he had received from talking with everyone was quickly joined by excitement. He really was in Ordyyn’s library! The place where all of Bryyo’s history could be found! The place where everyone who had made a great impact on history was spending their afterlife! The place where one could get to work with a god!

He was at the library’s entrance. Bookshelves larger than any he had seen before spread out in every direction. Like the City of Glass, the library was filled with light. But this light came exclusively from Ordyyn, and it was perfect for reading and writing. Andest wondered when he would start to chronicle Bryyo’s events.

A man appeared from behind one of the bookshelves. ‘Is he here to welcome me?’ Andest thought, until he realized who the man was: the Liberator, Bryyus the First. The man who had saved the world. Andes took a sharp breath. He fell on his knee and bowed his head like he had done to Ekrosyys. Bryyus was the most influential Reptilicus who had ever lived, and now Andest could meet him!

Bryyus stopped in front of him. “It’s an honor to meet you, Liberator”, Andest said. Bryyus waited a bit and then said: “Rise, last Lord of Science! We will work as equals in the library. And I’m not the only one in here who has done great things”. Andest slowly got up. Bryyus was right, naturally. Nobody entered the library without a reason. Bryyus was even more magnificent in person than he was in the stories: he was cheerful, confident and handsome. He was also very large: over a head taller than Andest, and Andest was by no means short.

Bryyus walked Andest through the library. He talked a bit about how to do their work, but he was also very interested on hearing about what Andest had done. Just like Andest had only read and heard stories about Bryyus during his life, Bryyus had only heard and read stories about Andest during his afterlife. He was also more than happy to answer Andest’s questions about his actions. During their walk, they passed by many famous Reptilicus. They stopped and talked a bit with all of them.

One meeting was different. Andest and the other person stopped completely. Andest had met him in life: it was Sfimas, the first Lord of Science. The man who had destroyed the world. Their eyes met. The last Lord of Science gazed into the first Lord of Science, and the latter looked back. “A-Andest C-Vivr?” Sfimas asked with a thin voice. “SFIMAS!” Andest roared. He couldn’t recognize his own voice.

He rushed towards Sfimas. Bryyus tried to grab him, but was a bit too slow. Sfimas’ eyes widened as Andest approached. When Andest reached his target, he threw a mighty uppercut directly to Sfimas’ jaw. Neither of them had bodies, so they couldn’t be damaged. But they still had all of the senses they had when they were alive… which included the sense of pain. The gods were nice like that.

The punch threw Sfimas a considerable distance backwards. He flew in the same direction as the hallway, so he didn’t hit any bookshelves. He landed on his back and slid a small distance. Andest followed him while Bryyus watched in shock. Andest knelt on top of Sfimas and started hammering his head. Each hit made Sfimas wince. Andest didn’t care if this was acceptable behavior: he just wanted Sfimas to suffer.

Bryyus quickly snapped out of his shock and rushed to help Sfimas. He grabbed Andest from behind, locking his arms, and lifted him up. “Don’t do that!” he said to Andest with a firm voice. He was about to continue, but Sfimas interrupted him: “Let him go, Bryyus. I deserve it”. He sounded tired. Reluctantly, Bryyus let Andest go. He instantly dropped back in Sfimas, and started punching him again.

But this time, something felt wrong. Andest just couldn’t muster as much strength as before, and soon he couldn’t punch at all. Sfimas just took everything he threw at him, only slightly wincing from each hit. Andest grabbed Sfimas’ shoulders and pressed him tightly to the floor. He then shouted: “WHY WON’T YOU DEFEND YOURSELF?!” Sfimas stared at him with empty eyes. “Because”, his eyes began to look glossy, “You can’t possibly hurt me as much as I’ve already hurt you”. His voice broke and he started to sob. “As much as I’ve hurt everyone…” He started crying.

Andest was still on his knees. He was breathing heavily. Sfimas covered his face, which slightly muffled his cries. Bryyus helped Andest up. “Sfimas… didn’t get here for a good reason”, Bryyus explained. “He did greatly influence history, but not in a way anyone would like to be remembered”. He put one of his arms on Andest’s shoulder to emphasize: “He has not taken it well”.

‘Well, that’s an understatement’, Andest thought. He looked at the sobbing mess that was Sfimas. ‘All those centuries I’ve been alone… He’s suffered here. Even death didn’t bring him peace’. What a horrible fate. Andest knelt by Sfimas. Sfimas looked at him. “An… Andest… can you… forgive me…?” Sfimas managed to ask. 

Andest took a deep breath. He could almost smile. “I forgive you”, Andest said and offered to help Sfimas up. He took the offer, and Andest pulled him up. Sfimas wiped his tears. “Well… that’s it, then… the last Lord of Science is dead… we finally lost…” He looked into Andest’s eyes. “Odd… I’ve waited for centuries to tell you how sorry I am… And now that you forgave me…” He sighed. His muzzle lowered. “I just thought I’d feel better if every Lord of Science would forgive me, yet… I don’t feel any different”. He looked so miserable.

Andest folded his upper arms. “Yes, the last Lord of Science is finally dead”. He leaned slightly towards Sfimas and folded his lower arms. “The final Lord of Science, on the other hand…”He started grinning. Bryyus gasped in surprise, while Sfimas’ head snapped up, and his mouth flew open. “What?” Bryyus asked. “There’s another one? How?” Sfimas wondered.

“Well…” Andest said as he leaned back a bit. “I spent quite some time alone… Long enough to find and train an apprentice… She actually came to me, if you can believe that! She wanted to warn me about a cataclysm that would leave our war in shame”. He looked down, slightly worried. “I hope that we did enough… enough to save Bryyo… If we can survive this second apocalypse… she has a chance to restore Bryyo”. He lifted his head and looked at the other Reptilicus. “Her name is Owanl B-Shar, and I’m very proud of her”.

“Unbelievable”, Bryyus said. He actually sounded like he had trouble believing Andest, but his doubt soon vanished. “Wow…” Sfimas said. “It really sounds we have a chance… even against this… cataclysm”. He looked away. “I wonder how long I must wait until I can ask her forgiveness…” his voice trailed off.

Andest decided to cheer him up. “Much sooner than you might think”. Sfimas looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. Bryyus was confused as well. “I trust her completely, but… ‘Life is too valuable to be left to the hands of fate’”, he quoted an old book. “I’m not going to stay out just because I’m dead”. Sfimas was unable to respond to that, but Bryyus could say what both of them thought: “And how in the name of the Antecedent are you going to do that?!”

Andest grinned again. “Unlike the other Lords of Science, I had enough time to study our lost arts of magic… and I’d like to think that now I’m pretty good at them”, he explained. This surprised Bryyus and Sfimas yet again. Now both of them stayed silent. Andest continued: “And I have one final experiment to make. One, ultimate experiment! I found this in an ancient book about the differences between Reptilicus and Chozo magic…” He started explaining his idea to the two startled Reptilicus.


	7. Second contacts

### Background music: [Torvus Bog Theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuPJm2XQT0A)  
  
Science Lord hideout, Bryyo’s coldside, one year after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

Owanl froze. Her heart started pounding, and every muscle in her body tensed. She had never been startled this badly. The knocking sound was the first thing that had surprised her in years. At first she thought that the Primals had found her and were coming to kill her, like they had killed Andest. But after thinking about it for a couple of seconds, she calmed down. The Primals wouldn’t knock if they were here to kill her. And how could they have survived the cold? Even in Owanl’s winter clothes one would get cold in a matter of hours.

So, not Primals, then. But if not them, then who? Could it be the Chozo? Had they really come to Bryyo and saved the planet? That terrible feeling Owanl got after the empty nightmare had vanished, so something had to have happened. This line of thinking made Owanl hopeful, but also nervous. What should she say to her kin’s ancient friends? Should she apologize?

But being careful wouldn’t hurt. Owanl grabbed her rifle and sneaked to the door. Just as she got next to it, the person outside knocked again. The sound made Owanl jump. She tried to calm her nerves and turned on the camera above the door. A small screen next to her flickered to life. Now she could safely see who, or what, was waiting outside the door in the eternal, cold night.

Owanl didn’t recognize the creature. She had read stories, looked at pictures and watched videos from the time Reptilicus travelled across stars, but a creature like that had never appeared in any of them. It was noticeably smaller than her; the top of its head was a bit above her lower arms. It was shaped like a typical alien, walking upright like a Reptilicus, but only one pair of arms and no tail. Anything else was impossible to tell, as it was wearing winter clothes as well.

Owanl walked to the door, and moved her rifle to a position where it couldn’t be seen from the outside, but could quickly be pointed there. She carefully opened the door just enough to see outside. Apparently, there was a blizzard going on. The alien took a step back, looked up to her and shouted over the howling wind: “Hello! May I come in?” The creature sounded male. Owanl had trouble responding, but she managed to spurt out: “H-Hello. Please do!” She opened the door completely.

The alien walked in, and Owanl closed the door behind him. He started removing his winter clothes. Snow fell on the floor, but Owanl didn’t mind. It would melt away. “Terrible weather out there”, the alien said. “I’ve never been in a blizzard as bad as that!” “Yeah, right…” Owanl mumbled. She hadn’t set foot outside since she first entered the hideout. She had never even looked outside. Was this kind of blizzard a normal thing or an exceptional one?

Now that he had removed the heavy winter clothes, Owanl could take a closer look at the alien. As she had already noticed, he was shaped like most aliens in her pictures. He also clearly had an endoskeleton, but he lacked any kind of scales, feathers or fur. The exception was his head, which had a patch of fur on top. His face was also rather flat. Of course, Owanl couldn’t see what was under his clothes.

The alien took a quick look around the room. The heater gained his attention. He pointed at it and asked: “May I use your heater?” “Sure…” The alien walked to the heater and positioned so that he could keep facing Owanl. He held his hands near the heater to warm them. Owanl was in a shock. ‘This feels so unreal’, she thought. She had been alone for so long, and now an alien she had never heard of had just walked into her home.

They stood in silence. The alien turned his hands around. Owanl started to feel even more uncomfortable. This was effectively a “first contact” situation, as every Reptilicus that had met aliens was dead. She clearly remembered that she had read about proper etiquette in such situations, but she couldn’t remember what said etiquette was. To make matters worse, each species had at least some customs of their own, and Owanl still wasn’t sure what the alien was called.

She had to start with something. “Umm…” she tried to think how to ask politely. “What is your name? And, if you don’t mind telling… what kind of creature are you?” She hoped that she hadn’t broken some kind of rule by asking about his species. Her questions surprised the alien. “Oh! I forgot!” He walked slightly closer to Owanl and extended his only right arm towards her, hand open. “My name is Patrick Garner. I am a human”.

This greeting was familiar to Owanl. One was supposed to mirror the move, grab the other person’s hand and shake shortly. For a Reptilicus doing the greeting with someone with just one pair of arms, it was important to use one’s upper right hand to perform the greeting and keep the lower right hand beside one’s leg. Owanl did just that. His hand felt really warm from the exposure to the heater. She introduced herself: “I am prophetess Owanl B-Shar. I am a Reptilicus”.

This Patrick seemed to be pleased with the handshake. He also had a question for Owanl: “Are you that prophetess? The one that made those pictures?” Owanl nodded. “I painted them, yes”. “It’s an honor to meet you”, Patrick continued. “Sorry about what happened to your planet… but thanks to your actions, we heard your plea. The starborne death of your visions is now completely destroyed. It will never cause harm again”.

An unbelievably powerful wave of relief washed over Owanl. She wavered to the wall and leaned on it with her hands. “I did it!” She was breathing heavily. “I saved Bryyo!” Patrick smiled to her. “And you helped to save the entire galaxy. Bryyo wasn’t the only target of those meteors”. There had been more than one of those horrible things? That was news to Owanl. She had never considered it, but nothing in her visions had explicitly said that the meteor that had hit Bryyo was unique. Other worlds had never been a concern for her. Bryyo had had too many problems.

Patrick spoke again: “But according to your paintings, Bryyo had issues even before the Leviathan”. Owanl stared at him. How did he know almost exactly what she had thought? “And they haven’t gone anywhere”. He took a short pause. “The Galactic Federation, whom I represent, wishes to offer you help”.

Owanl’s heart skipped a beat. The prophecy she had received on the first time she tried to sleep in the hideout had shown her getting help – could this Patrick be the help she had been promised? It was worth a try. Bryyo’s state would slowly worsen if she wouldn’t take help, so even if he was lying, at worst, Bryyo would only die faster. But if he really could help – Owanl didn’t dare to finish her thought.

She was finally able to speak again: “I… We should sit down…” She gestured towards the table. Patrick nodded, and they sat down at the opposite sides of the table. He looked very small on the chair, almost like a child – everything in the hideout was made for Reptilicus. Owanl tried to ignore this. Among his species, Patrick had to be an adult. She would take any help he would offer.

“What kind of help are you offering?” Owanl asked cautiously. Even now, she had trouble believing that someone would give her – and Bryyo – help. “Well…” Patrick said, “at first, I’d like to hear about Bryyo’s problems in detail. I’ve read your message, but it focused more on your past than your present. I need to know what exactly is wrong here before we can help you”.

“Bryyo has… two problems right now. Major problems, that is”, Owanl said slowly. “The first one is that Bryyo is landlocked with the sun”. She paused. Saying all this out loud felt somehow wrong. “It’s been landlocked for ages, long before I was born. It feels perfectly normal to me, but it makes most of the planet uninhabitable. Bryyo used to be a paradise, and I want to make it one again”, she spurted out without thinking.

Owanl felt a bit embarrassed about her burst. She looked at the table and continued: “I already know how to do it. Andest left me all of his plans. I can make the machines that make Bryyo spin again, but not in here. I need to get to the hotside, Andest’s home. It contains almost everything I need. The only things I’m still missing are a way to get there safely and something to protect me from the Primals while I’m working”. She looked at Patrick again. “Some help with building everything would also be very welcome, but not vital. Protection matters more”.

Patrick sat silently, thinking about her words. He still thinking when he asked: “Who is this Andest?” Owanl felt a stab in her heart. “The last Lord of Science”. “I’m sorry for your loss”, he said in response, which did make Owanl feel a bit better. “So, just a one-way trip, some guards and maybe some construction workers. Nothing too hard”, he summed up. “But getting those builders could take some time, as all other planets want their damages fixed as well. You’ll probably need to wait for them quite some time”.

Now that Owanl knew that other planets were hit by those Leviathans as well, she understood perfectly that everyone wanted to help their own home planets first. That’s what she would do, too. “Thank you”, she said. Once more, she felt like this was just a dream. Patrick smiled and nodded. He then said: “Now, what about the second problem?”

Owanl swallowed. Solving this one would be much harder. “It’s my people, the Reptilicus. Once we too could travel across the stars, but now…” Her mouth was suddenly very dry. “…excluding me, we’re barely better than animals, and that was years ago”. Patrick sighed and closed his eyes. He was just silently sitting still. After a while, he opened his eyes and asked: “Do you have any idea how to do it? Would you need gene-therapy or something similar?”

“No!” Owanl quickly answered. “No. Nothing like that. It’s not genetic. If I just could teach the children, I’m sure they would grow up well”. “Are you sure it’s not genetic?” Owanl nodded. “Hmm…” Now it was Patrick’s turn to look at the table. He soon looked back at Owanl and said: “Okay, one last question: how far would you be ready to let us go to save your people?”

Hearing that question made Owanl feel weird. If she had been asked the same question when she was still living with the Primals, and maybe for some time while she was living with Andest, she would have wished for caution. The Primals were able to make decisions as well, and they had to be respected. Doing something that couldn’t be easily reverted should be avoided.

But now… 

Her people really weren’t good at making decisions, were they? If the Primals were anything like they were when she Owanl lived with them, they would refuse any and all offers of help, whether from superstition or from pride. If a world like this was the result of Primal Traditions, she would be more than happy to sacrifice a few of said traditions to heal her people. She didn’t care about pride; she cared about getting results. And she was so tired of being… all alone. Owanl answered without hesitation: “To the end”.

The answer came as a surprise to Patrick: “Really? You’d accept anything we do, if it helped your people?” “Yes”, Owanl said both to Patrick and to herself. Patrick scratched his head. “Wow… I thought that a prophetess would advise caution”. Owanl clenched her fists. She was so angry at the Primals. “Most Primals… are not in a state… where they can think clearly”. She breathed in. “And sometimes… to help people who you care about, you need to hurt them a bit first. In that case, you must hurt them without hesitation”.

That answer was even more shocking to Patrick. It took him quite some time to think how to respond. “You must’ve had a harsh life”, he finally said. “I hope that it gets better from here”. Owanl’s head dropped. “I just… don’t want to gamble with the fate of my homeworld and my people. It’s just… not right”, she mumbled. She added with a clearer voice: “If it helps my people in the long term, I’ll take it”.

Patrick nodded. “Well, that does simplify things… I’ll talk with someone higher up about this. We’ll find a solution, even if it might take a while”. Owanl then realized that something was missing: “I can’t really give you anything in return. Not in a few decades, at least”. She couldn’t believe that someone would offer help this extensive and not want anything for it.

Patrick blinked. “What? You’re one of the richest people in the galaxy! You should be easily able to pay for anything you want. Like the rest of this solar system”. Owanl simply couldn’t believe that. “I’m not rich! Look around you! Do I have anything of value here?” She looked around the room. Sure, there were all kinds of artefacts everywhere in the room, but there was no way they were worth an entire planet, let alone several.

Then Owanl remembered that Andest had given her everything he had owned. Had he hid something really – “Well, if all other Reptilicus have devolved as much as we fear”, Patrick interrupted her thoughts, “you would be the last sentient native of Bryyo. And according to the galactic law, that would make you the sole owner of Bryyo”. He paused to give Owanl time to realize what she had been told. “And Bryyo is full of Fuel Gel, while most planets around here are in an energy crisis”.

Owanl owned an entire planet. “I don’t feel rich…” was all she could say. Fuel Gel was useful, sure. It’d be tough to live on a planet without it. It had kept her warm and fed for years. Owanl remembered reading that Bryyo could turn biomass into Fuel Gel. Later, she could offer to take care of Federation’s waste. Then she could literally pay them with their own trash. Giving away some to start seemed like an excellent deal.

“This day must be full of surprised to you, right?” Patrick asked. “Yes”, Owanl said. Answering an easy question helped her focus. “So, you will give me help, and I’ll give you Fuel Gel. That’s the deal?” “Exactly”, Patrick said. He stood up and extended his hand again. Owanl completed the ritual like before. “I need to talk with the people in charge first, so we’ll decide the details later”, Patrick said. Owanl simply nodded.

Patrick stretched his arms and said: “Was there anything else you’d like to discuss?” That question came so quickly that Owanl just said: “N-No, I don’t think so…” Patrick nodded. “All right then. I’ll then go to my next destination. Have a nice day and good luck!” He waved his hand and turned around. Owanl felt terror and loneliness grip her chest. She panicked and shot up from her chair. She shouted: “Patrick not go!”

Patrick froze. He slowly turned around. “Erm… Excuse me?” he said. He was clearly on his guard now. “I-I mean…” Owanl started explaining. She felt so embarrassed. She wasn’t sure when the last time she had spoken like a Primal was, but it had been a long time ago. “I’m… I’m just about to… eat…” She swallowed. “Maybe… Would you like to… eat with me?” One was supposed to ask this from visitors, right?

“And what were you planning to eat?” Patrick asked cautiously. “Huh? Mushrooms, of course”, Owanl said. “There’s too little sunlight for must plants, and no plants means no prey. Mushrooms don’t need that. They’re really good”. Her answer seemed to satisfy Patrick. “Okay, I’ll stay for the meal”.

Owanl felt incredibly relieved. She walked to the cupboard and took some mushrooms she had picked up earlier. While initially she had thought that the farm just grew mushrooms, she had later noticed that there were different kinds of mushrooms. They all tasted slightly different, which was good, as eating the same thing all the time would quickly become nauseating.

She mashed the softer mushrooms into a fine paste, which she then heated in a bowl. The harder ones she simply roasted. Water would do for drinks. She also took out some mushroom bread she had made earlier. It wasn’t the most varied meal, but it was the best she could make with so limited resources.

Owanl carried the meal, as well as two plates and spoons, to the table. “Take as much as you want!” she said to Patrick. “Thanks”. He took a rather small amount of food. At first, Owanl thought that he didn’t like it (not that it would be a surprise), but then she remembered that he was noticeably smaller than her. He probably couldn’t eat as much as a Reptilicus. She took the rest of the food for herself.

Now Owanl felt excited. Finally, there was a living, breathing being in the hideout with her! She wasn’t all alone! Eating with someone else filled her with energy. She could… talk about things, like she had used to talk with the others in the tribe, and later with Andest.

For example…

Such as…

Like…

Owanl swallowed and stopped. “Odd”, she said to herself. “What’s odd?” Patrick asked. The response startled Owanl. Now she had to keep in mind that she had company, so she shouldn’t say all of her thoughts out loud. She had to think fast. Her head was completely empty, so she just asked what she used to ask after not seeing someone in a while: “H-Have you… caught anything nice lately?” She smiled nervously.

“Uhh…” Patrick said. He certainly wasn’t expecting a question like that. “Catching what? What kind of thing are we talking about?” Owanl blinked. “Prey. Game. The creatures you catch while hunting”. Wasn’t it obvious? “Oh, that kind of things. I have never hunted. I’ve fished a couple of times, but not lately”. Owanl’s smile slowly faded. They sat silently for a while. “I haven’t hunted in ages either”, Owanl said silently.

Her excitement had started to get replaced by discomfort. Patrick noticed it. “Is something wrong?” he asked. Owanl sighed. “It’s just that… I’ve wanted to talk with someone for so long. And now that you’re here… I can’t think of anything to say”. She was on the verge of tears. Why was this so difficult for her?! She had talked to people since she was a child! Not with any aliens, of course, but even if Patrick had been another Reptilicus, she couldn’t have thought of anything.

Patrick smiled. “In some cases, you don’t need to say anything”. “But I want to!” Owanl was getting more anxious. Patrick said slowly: “Okay… if you can’t think of anything to say, could I just ask you some questions?” Owanl thought about his suggestion. “Yes, I’d like that”. Her anxiety started to go away just as suddenly as it had appeared.

“Hmm…” Patrick said, thinking about his first question. “What was your life like before you met the last Lord of Science?” Owanl felt only a light sting. A small part of her still missed those times. “It was… mostly a normal Primal life. Hunting, gathering, playing, helping around in the camp. Since I was a prophetess, my grandmother, Hixxn B-Shar, taught me how to do the responsibilities of one, like deciphering visions, certain rituals and some spellcasting”.

Memories flooded Owanl’s mind. Her vision started to blur. “I… really didn’t listen to her enough. I just wanted to play with the others, not do chores all the time. I thought that I’d have plenty of time to do those things once the others started to get their responsibilities and chores as well, but…” She gave a laugh. The sudden movement made tears drop from her eyes. “Well…” she wiped them, “…that didn’t exactly go as I thought, right? I could never have even dreamed about any of… this…” She fell silent.

Patrick looked compassionate, if Owanl understood correctly. “I’m sorry”. Owanl waved her hand. “Don’t be, I’m not offended or hurt. I just haven’t thought about those times for a long time”. She gained resolve, and spoke slightly louder: “And I’d change nothing. I was happy back then, and I did help to save Bryyo, so I made the correct choices, right?” She smiled, but her smile had a bit of longing in it.

Patrick had already thought about his next question: “You said that grandmother taught you spellcasting. Your paintings also mentioned that the Primals used magic to wage war”. He paused. “Is that true? Can you do actual magic, not just psionics?” “Actually, I later found out that, with the exception of receiving visions, none of the Primals could do magic anymore. Andest taught me magic. It’s what seers are supposed to do”.

“Wow”, Patrick said, astonished. “I’ve met a handful of psions, but you’re the first magician I’ve met. Could you…?” He left his question hanging. “You want to see a spell?” Patrick nodded. “Okay”. Owanl raised her hand and clenched her fist. She gathered her power into the fist and formed the spell. Then she quickly opened her fist and unleashed the spell. A small ball of fire appeared slightly above her palm. It wasn’t actually fire (there was no chemical reaction inside it), but it looked and could be used just like fire.

After they both had admired the flame long enough, Owanl cut the flow of power and closed her hand. The fire went away as quickly as it had appeared. “Well…” Patrick said slowly, “I have always thought that magic was just misunderstood technology or psionic use, but that certainly does seem like real magic. I can’t think of any other explanation”. He took out a small device and looked into it. “Hmm? No signal?”

“What’s the matter?” Owanl asked. Patrick showed his device. “I’m trying to contact my ship, but this says that there’s no signal. It seems like something is blocking the connection. Is there something that prevents wireless communication?” “I… don’t know. At least it would explain why nobody has answered my distress call”. Patrick looked confused. “A distress call? Wait!” He started operating the small device.

“Aha!” he exclaimed triumphantly. “I received your distress call! It seems that your signal is very powerful, but also extremely short-ranged”. “And that means…?” Owanl asked cautiously. “That your signal is powerful enough to drown out all other communication within a very short range, but outside said range, it is undetectable”. Owanl sighed. “Well, that didn’t work out as I had planned”. “Could you turn it off?” Owanl stood up. “Well, it’s not like I need it anymore…” She walked to the antenna and turned it off.

As soon as the power was gone, Patrick said: “Ah, the signal is back! Thank you”. He stood up. “Still one planet left. I better get going, so I can start to think about the solutions in detail”. “Where are you going next?” Owanl asked. She walked closer to Patrick. “To our common neighbor: Elysia. You should be able to see it with a naked eye right now, if you go outside”.

“What kind of problems does Elysia have? I thought that it was just an outpost”. “Elysia got hit by a Leviathan, just like Bryyo. But unlike Bryyo, the war raged much more on Elysia. Both sides needed its powerful sensors. Pirates to track our fleets and communications, the Federation to find the source of the Leviathans”.

Both of them stood silently for a while. “Well, it was nice to talk with you. And thanks for the meal”, Patrick said. “Goodbye, and good luck!” He walked to his winter clothes and started dressing. “Wait!” Owanl shouted. “I have one more request!” Patrick turned around and looked at her. “If it isn’t too much trouble…” she added. “Well, say it and I’ll see what I can do”. Owanl gathered her courage. “I’d like to have… someone to live here with me. So I wouldn’t have to be alone…”

Patrick smiled encouragingly. “I’ll look into it, but that might be your hardest request to fill. Few would like to leave their life behind to live here. Perhaps you would like to live somewhere else instead?” Owanl shook her head. “No. I’ll stay here until things get better. Thanks for the offer”. Patrick walked out of the door. Even if she was now alone again, Owanl felt better and lighter than she had in ages. Things were about to get better!

### Planet Elysia, some hours later

Patrick’s ship dropped out of FTL. This jump had lasted only an instant, as Elysia was in the same system as Bryyo. Elysia was the system’s gas giant, perpetually covered in a thick, planet-wide cloud. As gas giants don’t really have surfaces like regular planets, the Leviathan had actually struck its core. Elysia did have an unusually large core and shallow atmosphere for a gas giant, so scientists were still debating whether it should be called a gas giant or just a large normal planet.

Planet Elysia

This time, contacting the locals would be even easier than on Aether: Aurora Unit 217, an organic Federation supercomputer, was stationed on the only settlement of the planet, SkyTown. It had kept contact with the local population during the war. But the town had been corrupted by Phazon, and the locals were either killed or driven insane by it.

The Aurora Unit had been unable to contact any Elysians even after Phazon was gone, but it had seen glimpses of movement in the shadows. Patrick wasn’t the first human to visit Elysia after the war, but so far, finding survivors, especially ones that seemed to want to stay hidden, was deemed to be of low priority. Now finding one was Patrick’s first job.

### SkyTown, planet Elysia, the next day

DT-53 was fleeing. Often, fleeing is associated with cowardice and leaving others in need, but that wasn’t why DT-53 was fleeing. He wanted to help others, and he did it by keeping them safe… from himself. It was inside him. It made him do things he didn’t want. It made him want to do that. And it wanted to infect others. DT-53 wasn’t going to let it. He would flee to a place where there was nobody to infect.

He had only recently gained control of himself. He had been offline for about a year. He had received a signal a couple days ago, which had restored his power. DT-53 still didn’t know why it no longer commanded him. He could still feel it. He felt dirty. He had been hiding since he was fully powered up. If something had pushed the infection away, he would do his part to keep the contamination sealed.

But now someone was looking for him. At first he had just thought that the stranger had just wandered near him, but then DT-53 had heard him talk. The stranger had spoken with the Aurora Unit about movement in the area DT-53 had been hiding. He had fled the area, but the stranger had followed him. The Aurora Unit could find his general area, and now that he had to move so fast, the stranger could hear the clicking of his feet.

The floating city of SkyTown

As he was rather small and light, DT-53 wasn’t afraid of running out of energy. Besides, Phazon was an excellent source of energy. However, thanks to his size, he wasn’t that fast. He had to take all sorts of shortcuts though the various nooks and crannies of SkyTown, but despite his efforts, the stranger, with the help of the Aurora Unit, was gaining on him. DT-53 could hear him shouting him to stop.

Bang! DT-53 fell down. He was in such a hurry to flee that he hadn’t noticed that the next door had refused to open. ‘Why won’t it open?!’ DT-53 thought almost in a panic. He stared at the door for a while before realizing that the door in question was orange in color. Whatever was behind it, it needed to be protected well.

‘Why is it orange…? Most likely to help with the quarantine…’ DT-53 thought while staring at the door. The stranger’s heavy but soft footsteps were closing. He didn’t have a welding torch or some similar heat-based tool to unlock the door. ‘Well, that way is out of the question…’ He turned around to look for another exit. He found none. DT-53 had only one option: try to tell the stranger to leave before he would be infected as well.

The stranger jogged around the corner and stopped. He was most likely with the Federation, judging from his species and from the fact that he had communicated with the Aurora Unit. “Stay away! I’ll attack you!” DT-53 shouted. The human had difficulties breathing. “Why?” he panted. “I just… want to talk…” “I don’t want to. But I’m toxic! And radioactive!” The human’s breathing slowed. “Let me guess… Phazon?”

DT-53 felt relieved. He understood. “Yes! And it’s going to take over any moment now! I can feel it… gnawing at my mind…” His relief began to turn into despair. “No it won’t”, the human said. His voice sounded encouraging. “Phazon doesn’t exist anymore. Its source was destroyed a year ago”. He stepped closer. “It can’t be gone! It’s too strong… how can I still feel it?” DT-53 said, mostly to himself.

The human knelt next to him. “You sound like you have a… condition: Phazon Withdrawal. Most people who used to have Phazon Fever have it”. He placed his hand on DT-53. “You feel dirty, don’t you?” DT-53 nodded, before starting to shake. The human smiled reassuringly. “But it’s just a memory. The corruption is gone. You must keep that in mind”.

“Gone…” DT-53 whispered. He did feel dirty, but he didn’t really feel the sense of dread that Phazon would give. Nor did he feel any of the tendrils trying to worm their way into his mind like he had felt when the corruption was visible. He hadn’t seen any Phazon around SkyTown either. The human’s theory of him suffering from that Phazon Withdrawal started to appear more and more reasonable. “I… I think I believe you…”

The human smiled. “My name is Patrick Garner. What’s yours?” “I am DT-53”. He lifted his frontal right leg. Patrick understood the idea, and they “shook hands”. “Are you the only active Elysian right now?” Patrick asked. “Most likely. I haven’t seen anyone, although SkyTown is still pretty big, and I haven’t looked everywhere”.

Patrick stood up. “Hmm… Do you know where any inactive Elysians are?” he asked then. Bad memories returned to DT-53. “I… think I know where DCR-06 is. He was one of the last Steamlords to fall”. “Do you think that we could reactivate him?” DT-53 thought about it. “Maybe… I’m not sure”, he said slowly. “It depends on how damaged he is…”

He then looked directly at Patrick. “Why do you want to reactivate Elysians?” “Because”, he leaned closer, “the Treaty of Elysia still stands, right? The Federation helps Elysia, and Elysia helps the Federation. And I’m certain that right now, you would like to get SkyTown fixed, before it fails completely and sinks into the clouds”. DT-53 began to feel hope. “Yes, that would be very good”. The Elysians were made to maintain SkyTown; the best way to repair the city and keep it functioning was to let them do their job.

“And besides”, Patrick straightened his back, “I’m from Norion. We’re neighbors. We should try to look after each other, as well as the Reptilicus of Bryyo”. DT-53 started walking. “Didn’t they kill each other centuries ago?” Patrick followed him. “Only mostly. Some are still alive today. I recently spoke with one”. “Ah. In that case, I should update our database…”

After some walking, they entered a small room. Many machines lay on the floor motionless. While all of them were made on Elysia, only one of them was an Elysian. He was sentient; the rest were, as others would say, “just machines”. “There he is! Nothing seems to have disturbed this room”, DT-53 said. He and Patrick walked closer to the unmoving Steamlord.

A Steamlord

“How damaged is he? I have no idea what kind of injuries you might suffer”, Patrick said. DT-53 stared at DCR-06. “No external damage visible. I’ll have to run diagnostics”. He began scanning the inanimate Steamlord. He walked a full circle around DCR-06 and stopped. “Diagnostics complete. His power cells and fuel tanks are empty, and a couple of wires have… corroded partly”. He looked at Patrick. “That’s easy to fix. I can recharge him and reconnect the wires, if you will get some Fuel Gel. We don’t need much to start”.

Patrick headed back to his ship. He took some Fuel Gel from his ship’s tanks into a canister and headed back. By the time he reached his destination, DT-53 had already finished his job. He looked at Patrick. “Huh? Much more Fuel Gel than I expected. We’ll have him up in no time! We can refuel him from here…” DCR-06’ cap was the same size as DT-53’s (rather small), so pouring in all the Fuel Gel took a while.

Everything was ready. “I’ll now try to power him up. I hope this works…” DT-53 said. He looked at the Steamlord and began concentrating. Patrick stepped away, just in case something went wrong. Broken machines, Fuel Gel and electricity are a bad mix. Suddenly, DCR-06 twitched, and DT-53 stepped back as well. “I think I did it!”

DCR-06 sat up. Apart from hissing noises, he was completely silent. He slowly looked around the room. He stared at Patrick for a while until fixing his gaze on DT-53. “How did I get here? How long was I out?” he asked. “It was… the same that happened to me…”DT-53 started. His voice trailed away, so Patrick continued. “You were corrupted by Phazon roughly a year ago. It controlled you, so don’t blame yourself for anything you did, if you have any memories from that time”.

DCR-06 looked back at Patrick. “You are… from the Federation, right? And you helped DT-53 to fix me?” Patrick nodded. “Thank you. We are, once more, in your debt”. “I’m sure you will help us in return as soon as you are ready”. DCR-06 looked around the room. “That might take some time… SkyTown must be in an even worse shape than it was before the war”.

He rose up and began floating. He looked at DT-53 again. “You woke up on your own?” DT-53 nodded. “And you activated me as soon as you could?” “Y-Yes, as soon as Patrick gave me Fuel Gel”. DCR-06 took a pause. “You did a good job”, he congratulated DT-53. “So why do you seem so guilty?” DT-53 looked away. “I’m corrupted…”

DCR-06 floated almost silently. “But Phazon is gone, right?” he asked Patrick. Patrick confirmed his guess. “I know!” DT-53 shouted. “But I still feel like something bad lingers inside me! And I don’t want to… hurt anyone…” He turned away. “Phazon Withdrawal”, Patrick explained to the Steamlord. DCR-06 folded his arms. “I’m in your debt, and I’d love to help you, but I need to start fixing our home unless we want that the rest of it falls down as well”.

He looked at Patrick again. “And I’ll need supplies for that. Will the Federation send any soon?” Patrick had to think about it for a while. “Well… We’re pretty tight on supplies ourselves, but thanks to your Observatory, I’m sure that you will be pretty high on our list of priorities”. DCR-06 nodded. “Thanks again”. He looked at the inanimate machines on the floor. “I can get these up myself and begin examining the damages shortly”.

DT-53 said: “I can help with that, but as for repairing…” He shrugged. “I’m for gathering and processing data, not for maintenance”. DCR-06 hissed out some steam. “I know. And I’d like to have as many repairers as possible, but I can’t just leave you with nothing. Perhaps you could hibernate, or…” He began to think about a way to solve this issue.

But Patrick had an idea before him: “So, you don’t really need DT-53 here, right?” Both Elysians stared at him. DCR-06 responded: “Not right now. But I will not abandon him, if that’s what you are asking. Why?” Patrick smiled. “Because I might be able to get you all the Fuel Gel you need”. This surprised both of the machines. “That’s a lot of Fuel Gel…” DCR-06 said after a pause. “But what would you want in return? We don’t have much right now. Even the Observatory might not function”.

Patrick’s next answer confused them even more: “You don’t have it. But DT-53 does”. “What do I have that DCR-06 doesn’t?” he asked. “He has much more authority than me”. “You aren’t needed here and you can talk. That’s all that’s needed”. He drew breath. “Would you be ready to move to another planet for a while?”

DT-53 blinked. “If I get permission–” “Will he be safe?” DCR-06 interrupted. “He will”, Patrick responded. DCR-06 was satisfied. “You may go, DT-53”, he said. DT-53 stood silently. “Sure, I’ll go, but what exactly am I supposed to do there?” Patrick smiled again. “I already told you:” he explained. “Talk!”

### Temple Grounds, planet Aether, one year after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

U-Mos was staring at the broken holoprojector. ‘I should really tell someone to fix that, now that everything has improved. Or maybe I should even do it myself’, he thought. That would be a change for him: No rush, no expectations and, most importantly, no practical use whatsoever. He hadn’t had much time for anything like that since his childhood.

This was the first time in ages U-Mos had no work left until bedtime. Everything was going smoothly, no disputes or hard decisions, at least for a while. He wanted to just walk around the Temple Grounds and talk to people about anything that would come to their minds. Or nothing at all, a pointless conversation would be rather refreshing as well.

He also wanted to explore the Temple Grounds on his own. The war had damaged the area considerably, and with nobody living there for years, all kinds of animals had infested the place. With the help of the troopers, they had been driven away, but the mess they had made remained. U-Mos could still, to some extent, remember what everything had looked like before the Leviathan impact. At some point, the Grounds would be filled with homes; he’d make sure of it.

He met most of the people on the planet while walking. Of the ones he didn’t meet, some were inside the Great Temple, a handful lived in the Agon Wastes, and some were sleeping (they slept and ate in shifts to save time and room). The ones he did meet were still working: building, repairing and handling the temporary farms. The Temple Grounds wasn’t an ideal place to farm, as it was an arid place, but it was, at the moment, better than Agon and safer than Torvus.

Then he heard a new sound: the sound of children playing. A long time ago, he was the one making that sound, but soon after he grew up, the war started. When they had been children, most of the other adult Luminoth had told to keep quiet to avoid drawing attention. And to practice skills they would need to survive. It had worked… barely.

U-Mos walked closer. He wanted to watch the children having some carefree fun. At some point, he hoped that the rest of his people could have a chance for that as well. But as soon as he saw the children, he noticed something odd: one of the children was different, a Dark Luminoth. U-Mos’ fists clenched. Of course he should have expected that!

His first instinct was to rush in and destroy the Ing threatening the children, but he remembered that the war was over, had been over for many cycles, and that he had given that particular Ing permission to possess that poor child. He fully stood behind his decision, even if he didn’t like it one bit. Just seeing the darkling darkened his mood. U-Mos felt the need to talk with him.

“T-Ror!” he shouted. The Ing froze. “Come over here!” T-Ror quickly turned around. When he noticed that it was U-Mos calling him, his mandibles started to shiver and his antennae wilted. T-Ror ran to him nervously. Once he reached U-Mos, he knelt. “Forgive me, Sentinel!” he said. He lowered his head, concealing his face from U-Mos. “I didn’t notice you”.

U-Mos wasn’t interested in pleasantries. He reached out with his mind into the Ing’s thoughts. At first he felt fear, like he had felt with many Ing before he had slain them, but puzzlingly, the distant feeling of malice inside every Ing he had met before was nowhere to be found. Even more shocking was the thought he picked up from the Ing’s mind: _I don’t want to die._

Finding a thought like that from T-Ror’s mind made U-Mos feel a little guilty. The Ing he had met before would never have thought anything like that. U-Mos decided to push the feeling aside and asked: “I see that you are having fun with the other children. Did they accept you without problems?” The Ing said slowly: “There were… no problems…” _Please don’t kill me._ He sounded very frightened.

“Have you had any other issues?” U-Mos asked. _I’ve done nothing… Leave me alone…_ “No, Sentinel”. The Ing was too frightened to give a more complex answer. U-Mos decided to change the subject:  “Everything around us is getting better and better. What do you plan to do in the future? When you grow up?”

T-Ror thought about the question for a moment. He thought: _I just want to live with dad on the farm._ But he said something completely different:  “I am a Warrior. I will fight for you, Sentinel”. U-Mos stared at him. T-Ror actually thought that he would prefer to hear what he had said instead of what he had thought! U-Mos didn’t know what would be worse: that T-Ror thought that everyone would prefer it or that U-Mos personally would.

He was about to say something about it when T-Ror twitched and made a weird sound. U-Mos knelt in front of him. He gently pushed T-Ror’s shoulder to reveal his face. T-Ror was crying… he had been crying for quite some time. Seeing a child cry made U-Mos feel a spike of quilt in his chest. “Am I really that frightening to you?” he asked T-Ror silently.

T-Ror sobbed. “Yes!” he shouted with a broken voice. “You are the greatest Warrior on Aether, and I haven’t even passed my Rite of First Blood!” He was getting more and more agitated. “You… you’ve killed so many of my kin… you hate the Ing… If you were to attack me…” He swallowed. “I could do nothing to defend myself!” He was now hyperventilating. U-Mos could feel T-Ror’s entire body tremble under his palm.

“The war is over now”, U-Mos said, both to T-Ror and to himself. “I have no reason to attack you if all you want is to live in peace”. He placed his other hand on T-Ror’s free shoulder. “Remember that I let you take T-Fme’s body. Even back then, I trusted you”. At least somewhat. Slowly, T-Ror started to calm down. “Thank you for giving me a chance, Sentinel”.

U-Mos stood up. T-Ror stood up as well. U-Mos said: “If everything goes well, we won’t need any more warriors. Not like we used to”. He paused. “We could use something more constructive… like farmers”. That made T-Ror smile faintly. U-Mos could feel his happiness. It was time to let him go back to the other kids.

But saying a normal farewell could sound threatening to a darkling, so U-Mos changed it slightly for T-Ror: “May you be shielded from the Light of Aether, T-Ror!” That shocked T-Ror so badly that he almost tripped. He shouted back: “May the Light of Aether guide you well, Sentinel!” He sounded cheerful. U-Mos also felt happier than he had felt in a long time.


	8. Living together

### Background music: [ Tallon Overworld](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mziw3FQkZYg)  
  
Science Lord hideout, Bryyo’s coldside, one year after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

Owanl had been busy for the previous day and a half. She had so much more energy now that she knew that she would get help. She could actually enjoy reading books, like she had enjoyed when she had lived with Andest. She was mostly reading non-fiction, to refresh her memory, but Owanl also went through a couple novels to relax.

She was more focused on Andest’s training exercises than she had ever before. She had to be ready. It wouldn’t be long before she would need to fix the machines Andest had used for real, and then she would have no room for error. Not when she was this close. Once the Primals had been… dealt with (she didn’t like the idea one bit, even if it was necessary), she would move to Andest’s former home.

While Owanl didn’t measure it, she felt that she got a bit faster every time she built the miniature. Now she had another worry: if she let herself to go full autopilot, she could start making mistakes. It was important to pay attention. And all that work exhausted her, so she could sleep properly. She didn’t have any dreams, just pleasant, restoring sleep.

It was shortly after she had woken when she heard someone knock the door. ‘This soon?’ Owanl thought as she walked to the monitor by the door. According to the monitor, Patrick was back, and he was carrying something. Or perhaps another human? Owanl didn’t know what other humans looked like. The visitor was wearing similar winter clothes as Patrick had, though.

Owanl opened the door. “Hi again, Owanl!” the human said. He had to be Patrick. “Hello! Come in, come in!” Owanl responded. Patrick walked in and put the thing he was carrying on the floor. He started take off his winter clothes while Owanl closed the door. Owanl then noticed that the thing Patrick had carried moved! She took a step back in surprise.

“W-What is that?” she asked nervously. “That”, Patrick said as he finished putting away the clothes, “is an Elysian. His name is DT-53”. He looked at the Elysian. “DT-53, this is Owanl B-Shar, a Bryyonian prophetess”. “Hello, Owanl…” DT-53 said silently. He offered one of his legs. “Pleased to meet you, DT-53”, Owanl said and shook his leg. It seemed to satisfy the Elysian.

All three walked to the heater. The day was warmer than the day Patrick had first visited Owanl, but in the coldside, that still meant dark and freezing. Moisture had already covered DT-53’s entire body. He hoped that the heater’s warmth would dry him quickly. Meanwhile, Patrick spoke to Owanl: “I have been thinking about how to deal with the Primals”.

Owanl felt something grip her stomach. “What… did you have in mind?” She was ready to accept rather extreme measures, but she didn’t have to like them. Patrick answered: “I can’t think of any other way than using dart rifles with some kind of muscle relaxant or sleeping agent”. He looked directly at Owanl. “Would you be okay with that?”

She sighed out of relief. “Yes! That sounds… great! No more… killing…” She looked into Patrick’s eyes. “And then you’ll put them into cages, right?” Before Patrick could answer, Owanl continued: “I think that’s best for them. Just make the cages big enough and they shouldn’t really care. They’d have a much better life than they have now, even if they can’t see it”.

“Well, that settles it, then”. They all stood in silence, enjoying the warmth. Finally Owanl broke the silence: “You are going to leave now, aren’t you?” Patrick nodded. “I have all the information I came to find. Now I just need to give it to the people who can put it in use”. Owanl knew that he had to leave, but she still felt a sting of disappointment. “Maybe you’d like to stay for breakfast?” Her suggestion caught Patrick off-guard: “Is it that time here? Sure, why not?”

They moved to the table. “Just sit down, I’ll get something fast”, Owanl said. “Is there some place where I can charge?” DT-53 asked. “Over there”, Owanl pointed at an outlet. “You can charge there… You are compatible with that, right?” She felt a bit worried. “Isn’t all of your tech compatible with Chozo tech?” Patrick asked. “It should be; I’ve never had a chance to test”. “Then there shouldn’t be an issue”, Patrick concluded.

DT-53 walked over to the outlet. By this point, he was already dry, so he could begin charging immediately. Owanl quickly brought small meals to Patrick and herself. They both started eating. “I just found two problems with the plan”, Patrick said. Owanl stopped. “What problems?” She did not want any more problems. “To start with”, Patrick said, “we’d need sedatives, but I don’t know what chemical would work on your species”.

Owanl thought about it herself. Choosing the right substance and dose would be critical. “I’m not sure myself either, but our medical texts must contain something we can use. I’ll go through them as soon as I can”. Patrick nodded. “One problem gone. The other is that we don’t know where the Primals live. Even just the temperate belt of Bryyo has innumerable places to hide, and going through them on foot will take either a very long time or a lot of manpower”.

That had never occurred to Owanl. Bryyo had many places to hide, and savvy hunter-gatherers could survive almost everywhere on the habitable belt. “I can… give you the location of my birth village, but I have no idea where the other tribes lived back then, let alone now”. She felt like a traitor just for saying that. “But we do know where the Reptilicus villages are!” Both Owanl and Patrick were surprised by the new voice in the conversation. It was DT-53.

They turned to look at the Elysian. “What are you talking about?” Patrick asked. “I know that you have scanners, but hasn’t SkyTown been effectively offline for ages?” DT-53 stared at him. “Well, a year ago, someone from the Federation launched six satellites, to Tallon IV, Aether, Norion, Bryyo, Elysia and Urtraghus. And they’ve been scanning the planets ever since”.

“Well, that’s news to me”, said Patrick. “By the way, what is Urtraghus? I’ve never heard about it”. DT-53 replied: “Planet SN-883 in the Federation’s charts. It’s where the Pirates came”. After that was Owanl’s turn to speak: “So… do you have this data with you?” “No”, said DT-53, “I don’t know much about it, other than it exists”. He looked at Patrick. “The Aurora Unit should have access to it. Someone just needs to ask”.

“So, that settles the other problem”, said Patrick. Owanl smiled. She felt a bit less worried about the future. After they ate a bit more, she decided to ask a question she had been wondering since the visitors had arrived: “By the way… Forgive me for asking this, but what are you doing here, DT-53? You seem rather quiet. Are you… gathering data, perhaps?”

The question froze the Elysian for a moment. Then DT-53 looked away from Owanl and Patrick. He started: “It’s… I’m…” Something made him unable to continue. Patrick decided to explain for him: “The last time I was here, you said that you wanted some company”. Owanl inhaled sharply. “And DT-53 volunteered”, Patrick finished.

Owanl started blinking rapidly. “Thank you, DT-53” She sounded different. “This… This means so much to me…” DT-53 looked at her and nodded (he has no way of expressing his emotions with his face). Patrick had finished his plate. He stood up and said: “Thanks for the meal. I’ll go now and put all of the information forward. See you later!”

“Until we meet again!” Owanl said and waved. “Goodbye, Patrick!” DT-53 said. Patrick put on his outdoors clothes, opened the door and left. DT-53 watched the door close. “You have quite an unusual door, don’t you?” he said. “It doesn’t have any shields, and you must manually move it aside to pass through. I’ve never seen a door like that before”.

“Elysia has those standard doors, right? The ones that you must shoot to open”, Owanl said. “Yes”, DT-53 confirmed. Owanl said: “We have similar doors in our old cities”. She blinked. “Or their ruins, at least. Anyway, this door is a much older design”. Both sat in silence. DT-53 broke it: “But why use this kind of door instead of the normal ones? Some animal might open it!”

“The coldside has no animals”, Owanl explained. “The only possible threat would be Primals, and a standard door wouldn’t stop them. This old door, however, is much harder to spot, because it uses no energy whatsoever. It’s also much simpler to build. And it can be locked, too. I can show you later if you want”.

“Hiding, huh”, DT-53 said. “Makes sense, the normal doors radiate brightly in both visible spectrum and infrared”. He looked at Owanl. “Patrick said that you don’t want to hurt those Primals”. “I used to be one. They really don’t like thinking about things… everything is simpler that way. And I fear that it’s gotten much worse after I left and the calamity of my prophecy arrived”, Owanl explained.

“But enough about the past!” she continued with a slightly happier voice. “Since you are going to live here, I should show you where everything is”. DT-53 looked around the room. “This doesn’t seem to a big place…” he said. Owanl pointed at a wall. “Perhaps you missed the doors over there?” DT-53 looked over there. “Oh! More hidden doors! What’s behind them?”

“A bathroom and a hall… but let’s start with this room”, Owanl said. “First question… Do you need to sleep?” “Well…” DT-53 started, “…I like to hibernate when I process data. We can call that sleeping if you want”. “And do you… charge yourself when you hibernate?” Owanl asked. “No. I prefer to charge while functioning normally”. “In that case, we should prepare you a bed. Maybe just a pillow will do? You are rather small”. DT-53 said: “I don’t know. I’ve never had a bed”.

“Let’s worry about that later”, Owanl said. She stood up and walked to another table. DT-53 followed her. “This is where I work. I read old texts and practice building Andest’s machines as well as spellcasting”. “Who is Andest?” DT-53 asked. Owanl was silent for a while. “The last Lord of Science”, she finally said with a flat voice. “You were close, right?” DT-53 asked much more cautiously. Owanl nodded. DT-53 didn’t want to poke any further. He had lost friends, too.

“I’ll show you my work in more detail… later…” Owanl said. “Let’s move on!” she said with a more cheerful voice. They walked to one of the doors. Owanl opened it but didn’t enter. “This room is for cleaning oneself and… waste disposal. You probably don’t need to use this room much”. DT-53 took a look inside. The room was dim, and he didn’t quite understand what exactly was inside before Owanl closed the door. It probably wasn’t that important. She opened the other door, and they both entered it. They were now in a hallway.

They walked along said hallway. It seemed to go slightly downwards. Owanl told that the next door would be somewhat far away. At first they walked in silence. Then Owanl broke it. “Dee-Tee-fifty-three”, she said slowly. “Your name is rather long, isn’t it?” “Maybe if you say it out loud”, DT-53 admitted. “But it doesn’t take much room if you write it or send it in a signal”.

“True”, Owanl said, “but we’re going to communicate by saying things out loud”. She paused. “So… could I just call you Deet?” “That’s a nickname, right?” DT-53 asked. ‘If I remember correctly, nicknames are a part of alien bonding’, he thought. “Yes, your nickname”, Owanl said. DT-53 was silent for a moment. “Deet. Very compact. I like it. Okay, I’ll be Deet!” He looked at Owanl, who smiled and nodded.

They now arrived to a second door. “This is where the mushrooms grow”, Owanl said as they entered. She had taken good care of the mushrooms, and now they were growing better than ever. A few spells here and there can do wonders. “Since you don’t eat, I’m not expecting you to take care of them. But now you know where I go when I need to tend or harvest them”, Owanl said.

They exited the room and started walking towards their last stop. Soon, Owanl asked Deet something that had been bothering her: “Why did Patrick carry you here? You seem to walk just fine”. “It’s the snow”, he replied. “My legs aren’t good in snow; it would have taken me ages to walk from Patrick’s ship to your home”.

“In addition”, Deet continued, “my tanks are empty, so I couldn’t fly either”. This answer made Owanl stop. “Wait”, she said. “You can fly?!” She started walking again. “Of course I can fly. I am from SkyTown!” Deet said. “SkyTown… flies?” Owanl said slowly. “Of course it does”, she answered to herself. “Elysia is a gas giant”. “It is called SkyTown for a reason”, Deet added.

“…I haven’t flown in a while”, he continued after a pause. “We’ve been starved for resources for ages. Then the Federation came, and things started to improve… until the war started, and Phazon came. It corrupted everyone who wasn’t killed. Including me”. Owanl said: “That… Phazon… hit us, too. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but I could feel that it was bad”.

Deet glanced at Owanl. “Were you corrupted too?” “No. I’m fairly certain that I’m the only Reptilicus who wasn’t”, Owanl replied. “Good to hear that you didn’t need to go through that. Well, after I was corrupted, I could use Phazon instead of Fuel Gel”. He paused. “At that point, it had been so long since I had had a full tank. With Phazon, I could refuel pretty much as often as I wanted!”

“And then, it was gone. I could control myself again. But I think that some Phazon remains in my tank”. He looked very lost. “I know that Patrick claims that all Phazon is gone, but my tank feels so… dirty…” Owanl had an idea: “Maybe you would feel better if you would refuel with some fresh Fuel Gel?” Deet looked at her. “Thanks, but I can’t take your Fuel Gel. You need it to run this place. I can keep walking”.

“If you say so”, Owanl said. They had reached a door. “We’ve arrived”. Owanl opened the final door. Behind the door was Owanl’s source of Fuel Gel: the lake. She started smiling. “So, how much Fuel Gel do you use when you fly?” she asked. Deet said nothing. “Deet?” Owanl asked. “Not… much…” Deet managed to say. “If only I could get this to SkyTown…” he whispered to himself. “I could arrange that, after the situation here is improved”, Owanl said.

“So, the Fuel Gel is here. We’ll need to carry some back to the living area every once in a while”, she continued. They spent some time enjoying the natural warmth of the cave and watching the Gel Puffers floating aimlessly. “Well, that’s it”, Owanl said. “Let’s start heading back!” They turned around and started walking the hallway back to the living area.

A Gel Puffer

The trip back was completely silent. Both Owanl and Deet had their own worries. ‘Try to keep smiling, Owanl’, Owanl thought. ‘He’s been poisoned, and still he came over to keep me company. I can’t just pour all my worries and pain on him’. Meanwhile, Deet thought: ‘I have to stay cheerful. Bryyo was nearly destroyed, and Owanl still took me in and lets me charge and refuel. Handing all of my problems over to her is not right’.

Finally they were back in the living area. Owanl stretched her arms. Deet asked: “So what happens now?” Owanl looked at him. “Normally, I’d continue my studies, but now that you are here, we should refuel you”. Deet looked away. “But if there is Phazon in my tank –” “I have the equipment and spells to deal with it” Owanl interrupted. Deet sighed. “If you insist, I won’t stop you…”

Owanl lifted Deet on the table she usually worked on. She gathered the necessary equipment and protective gear and started casting spells. After the necessary preparations had been completed, she asked Deet how to access his fuel tank. Deet told her the location of his cap. Owanl moved to a position where she could clearly see the cap and turned on the flashlight.

She then showed a scanner to Deet. “I’ll put this into your fuel tank to see if there really is something toxic or radioactive inside you. Are you okay with that?” “Does it do anything besides scanning?” Deet asked. Owanl shook her head. “You can do it”, Deet said.

Owanl opened Deet’s cap and quickly put the scanner into his tank. This made Deet stiffen. “T-That feels… so… wrong”, he mumbled. Owanl looked at the scanner’s readings. “Hmm… No traces of toxins… ionizing radiation not detected…” she said to herself. She then spoke to Deet: “I don’t think there’s any Phazon inside you. Not anymore, at least. It seems that Patrick was right”.

Deet sighed. “I… believe you”. Owanl continued: “This also means that I can take the scanner away and take a look”. “Please do”, Deet said. Owanl removed the scanner. Deet relaxed. Owanl moved her head closer to take a look, but she quickly pulled herself away. “Eww!” she shouted. “Whatever it is, it smells horrible!”

Deet tried to look at Owanl. “Is it something to worry about?!” he asked, almost in panic. “…No”, Owanl said slowly. “Whatever it is, it’s not harmful… but it’s not something I’d put in my mouth, either”. She moved closer again. “I’ll try to push it out with a spell. I’ll just use some simple kinetic force to do it. Are you ready?” Deet gave her permission.

Owanl held Deet in place with her lower hands. She focused her energy inside Deet’s fuel tank. As soon as the spell manifested, Deet twitched. “Hey— it’s— no!” he said, trying to get away in surprise. But Owanl held him in place, and a glob of brown sludge flew out of his fuel tank. She guided the blob onto a rag.

“I hope”, Deet said, “that you’ll never have to do that to me again. That was… an odd feeling. Really uncomfortable”. Owanl asked: “So, how do you feel now?” Deet was silent for a moment. Finally he said: “Clean. I feel really clean”. Then he realized something: “T-There’s no Phazon inside me! I’m not corrupted anymore!”

“I’m glad to hear it”, Owanl said. Now both of them turned to look at the rag. “So, what is that stuff?” Deet asked. “I’m not sure”, Owanl said. “It seems to be mostly some kind of organic sludge, maybe a hydrocarbon. And there’s sand or dust or something similar mixed in”. She looked at Deet. “Do you have any idea where it came from? How did this get inside you?”

Deet had an idea. He tried to remember everything he had heard. “Well… About a year ago, I was using Phazon as fuel. And Phazon slowly turns everything it touches into more Phazon. So, once Phazon’s source was destroyed, all remaining Phazon reverted into its original form” He concluded: “So, this… goo might be a mix from multiple sources”.

Owanl coughed. “Well, I’m not going to tolerate it anymore!” She moved to the heater and moved the dirt inside with another spell. It quickly burned away. “That takes care of it”, she said, satisfied. “What do we do next?” Deet asked. “We’ll refuel you. Then I’ll continue my studies. You may help, or watch, or entertain yourself in another way”. She looked away. “Not that there’s much to do here…”

Next, Owanl filled Deet’s tank with fresh Fuel Gel. Now Deet could fly once more. He could get on tables if needed. The rest of the day was uneventful. Both Owanl and Deet read most of the time. When Owanl practiced magic, Deet would ask her questions about Bryyo. This was the best opportunity any Elysian had had to collect data from Bryyo in ages.

But after a long while both were tired. It was time to sleep. Owanl let Deet choose any of the unused beds in the hideout. He picked the one right next to Owanl’s bed. He landed on the pillow and pulled the blanket partly on top of him. “This is my first night in an actual bed”, he said. Owanl climbed into her own bed. “I’m glad you can experience it. Sleep well, Deet!” “Sleep well, Owanl!” Deet said and began hibernating. Silence fell into the room.

A short time later, magical energy filled Owanl’s body once more. ‘A prophecy?! Now?! But why?!’ she thought. A realization crept into her mind. ‘I won’t let everything fall! Not when I’m this close!’ She calmed down and focused. ‘All I can do is to pay attention to what is revealed to me, just like I always do. Please be something good…’

And Owanl saw…

Absolutely nothing.

Utter blackness and deafening silence. The only thing she could feel was her magic and a warm softness almost everywhere around her body. Nothing was changing. Nothing was going to change. ‘Why can’t I see anything?’ Owanl wondered. Then a strange idea came to her head. ‘Perhaps I should just… open my eyes?’ And so she did. Now she could see something!

She saw…

The wall of her home, and a bit of her bed. She was in her bed, lying. “What? Am I awake?” she asked out loud. ‘No…’ she thought. She could still feel her magic raging inside her. ‘What is going on? Why would I see a prophecy about lying in my bed? It doesn’t make sense!’ But the rest of the room was hidden from her. Maybe the answers could be there? Owanl turned around.

The room was exactly as it always was. If she hadn’t felt the magic inside her, she would have been certain that she was awake. At that point, she realized something: ‘Every time I’ve seen myself in a vision, I have been unable to control my movements, or even thoughts. But now, I’m in full control of my body… or at least the vision-version of it’.

She slowly sat up. Everything was normal. She stood up. As her feet touched the ground, Owanl felt something strange: the floor was neither warm nor cool, neither coarse nor smooth. It was just… there. The feeling was peculiar. Owanl took a closer look around the room, and noticed that, one way or another, the same applied to every place in the room.

The air was just like the floor; it was as if it wasn’t even there. Furthermore, there was no coldness coming from the outdoor, nor was there any warmth coming from the heater. The heater wasn’t even on. All the lights in the room were off as well, and there were no shadows, either. Despite there being no sources of light, Owanl could see perfectly well.

She took a few steps forward. All the dust in the room she had neglected to clean was gone. The dishes had disappeared too (presumably into the closed cupboards she usually stored them). All the books and the screens she had used just before going to bed were gone as well. In a way, the room looked more like a three-dimensional picture of her home rather than an actual place.

The magic was still coursing inside Owanl. “What is going on?” she asked out loud. Her voice contained a hint of panic. “This was the only way to contact you”, a familiar voice said just behind her. Owanl gasped and jumped in surprise. She quickly turned around to take a look at the speaker. It was Andest. Of course it was Andest.

…He looked a bit different, though, and not in a way Owanl had expected. He looked so much younger. While he still looked much older than Owanl herself, he didn’t look like he was as old as the gods anymore. He was also standing straight… like he wasn’t carrying an entire planet on his shoulders. But the most striking difference was in his face. For the first time, he didn’t look sad. He was simply happy.

“Andest…” was all Owanl could say before her voice broke. She rushed towards Andest. She almost tripped, but was able to keep her balance until she reached him. Upon getting into an arm’s length of Andest, Owanl’s legs gave in. Fortunately, Andest was prepared for this and grabbed her and held her upright. She hugged him back and buried her face into his shoulder. Now she could start to cry out all those tears she had been unable to in the years after Andest’s death.

Neither Reptilicus said anything. Owanl was unable to speak through her sobbing. Andest, on the other hand, seemed to be content just standing there, holding Owanl up and slowly petting her head. Memories after memories flooded into Owanl’s head. She didn’t care if this was just a dream. It just felt so good to see Andest again. Someone she could trust… someone who could help her, understand her… someone of her own species.

Owanl had no idea how long they stood there. It was so long since she had last seen, let alone touched, another Reptilicus. After a while, she could suppress her crying long enough to speak. Unfortunately, her mouth was faster than her mind, so she just spurted out what she had felt: “A-Andest leave Owanl! Andest make Owanl leave! Owanl all alone! Owanl not talk anyone! Owanl not say Andest goodbye!”

“I know”, was all Andest said. His voice was silent. Owanl almost didn’t hear it, as she had already started crying again. Finally she felt that she wasn’t alone in all this. She had had no idea how much she had missed simply touching someone. Sure, Deet was living with her now, but getting used to a real alien would take some time. He still felt like a stranger, unlike Andest.

Andest started gently pushing Owanl away. She reluctantly let go. He was holding her at an arm’s length when he said: “Let’s sit down, shall we?” Owanl nodded. They moved to Owanl’s be and sat down, side by side. Owanl also noticed that she was wearing the same exact clothes she had worn when she had fled her village. She leaned on Andest, and he put his arms across Owanl’s shoulders and back. She started to calm down.

After sitting like this for a while, Owanl could ask a question she had been wondering since she had fallen asleep: “What’s going on? I can feel my magic, just like I would when I see a prophecy, but whatever this is, it’s clearly not one!” Andest smiled. “This… is my doing. A spell I spent so much time researching and learning! I’m sure you would love to hear more details, wouldn’t you?”

Owanl loved just hearing Andest’s voice again. She nodded. Andest collected his thoughts for a while. Then he drew breath and started talking: “By combining the might of magic and science, I was able to extend my life further than any other Reptilicus ever had… but at some point I realized that even that wouldn’t be enough”. He looked at Owanl. “Even after you arrived, I knew that I needed more time”.

“Would I find a successor? Yes, I would, but back then, I couldn’t be certain. Would I be able to teach them… you… everything that you would need? To save Bryyo? Perhaps… but to restore our culture and ways… what if something was once so common that nobody bothered to record it? How could you ever hope to learn it? So much is in danger of being into the flow of time…”

He looked away. Owanl could see ancient memories tormenting Andest. She gripped his hand. He continued: “I had used my years to prevent Bryyo’s obliteration… I didn’t have enough time to restore it… especially considering my reputation”. He laughed. “So, I went through all sorts of recordings, trying to find an answer… and I found one!”

He looked intensely into Owanl’s eyes. He was full of excitement. “Some recordings made mentions of the powers other species used. The Chozo in particular were masters of the arcane. They could do so much… including returning from the grave as a ghost!” He was berthing rapidly. “That was it! If I couldn’t help you, my successor, to save the world before my death, I would do so after it!”

His excitement vanished. “Unfortunately, after my soul went to the sun, I found out that I couldn’t do it”. Andest started to look afraid and lost, which made Owanl feel uneasy and scared. “I still have no idea why. Maybe I’m missing a critical component of the spell? Am I just not strong enough? Are the magical powers of different species just so different from each other? Or maybe our gods just don’t like us leaving the City of Glass?”

Owanl felt like at least the last one wasn’t the case. After all, her father had helped her when she was trying to cross the desert into Andest’s home. Surely she couldn’t have just imagined him… right? Whatever the case, she decided to not interrupt Andest. He continued: “Right now, the reason is irrelevant. All that matters is that I am unable to come back to you”.

That struck as odd to Owanl. “If you can’t come to me, how are we talking?” she asked. Andest was expecting this question: “I can’t come all the way to you… but maybe I don’t need to. If you could come over here, or at least most of the way, we could talk, so I wouldn’t need to try to return as a ghost. So, now I had another problem: how to get you here, to the sun?”

“Well”, Andest began answering his own question, “the simplest way to get you to afterlife would be to slay you”. Owanl tensed up. She didn’t like where this was going. “Of course”, Andest said while smiling reassuringly, “then you would be stuck here with me, which would defeat the entire point of all of my efforts. That is not an option”. Owanl relaxed a bit. “I had to find another way of getting you there”, Andest said.

“It took me quite some time, but finally, I did find a way to both bring you here and ensure your safe return to the land of the living”. He moved his face really close to Owanl’s. He looked very satisfied. “Can you guess what I had to do to make it happen?” Owanl thought about it for a while, but couldn’t think of anything. “No, I have no idea. What did you do?”

“Absolutely nothing!” Andest shouted. Owanl was completely surprised: “But that’s ridiculous! How could I travel to the sun and back without even knowing about it?!” Andest smiled warmly at her. “Owanl… when someone sleeps… where does their consciousness go?” Owanl blinked. Why would Andest ask her about that? “They travel into Pharandrin’s mind –!” A realization struck her.

“Exactly!” Andest said triumphantly. “And the Dreamer of the gods sleeps within the City of Glass!” He laughed, with a genuine, happy laughter. He sounded relieved. Owanl felt relieved too. Andest said: “All I had to do was to wait for you to fall asleep! Isn’t it amazing how sometimes the solution to a difficult problem is so simple!”

“So, to answer your question, Owanl: this is indeed not a prophecy, this is just a dream. It’s just that now I’m visiting it”. But that only answered half of Owanl’s question. She asked again: “But why do I feel my magic?” Andest answered: “I’m not certain how long I can sustain our connection alone. But together, this dream can last the entire night! So, I’m borrowing your magic”. He then realized what he had just done: “I… hope that you are okay with that… I didn’t ask your permission…”

Now was Owanl’s turn to smile and comfort: “I’d do anything to get you back. You don’t need to ask if you need to use my power”. Andest sighed out of relief. “Thank you, Owanl. It seems that I didn’t think everything completely through”. “Well, I can’t think of any other way to do this. You didn’t really have a choice”, Owanl said.

“By using your energy now”, Andest said slowly, “you won’t have much left for tomorrow, so if you feel tired and exhausted when you wake up, it’s nothing to worry about. I’ll need to gather my strength as well; we can meet again after one month, give or take a few days”. Silence fell to the room. Owanl felt like something should be happening. “So… are we going to talk about something else?” she asked.

“Hmm…” Andest said, thinking. “We’ve already talked quite a bit… If you don’t have any extra questions, we don’t need to talk any more right now”. He looked at Owanl. “But, if I’m guessing correctly…” he moved a bit closer to her, “… right now, you need…” he wrapped his arms around her, “…emotional support”. He pulled Owanl in.

Owanl closed her eyes. Andest felt surprisingly warm, especially considering that he was dead. That most likely only applied outside the dream, though, as she could feel his pulse. She felt safer than she had felt in a long time. For this short time, she didn’t need to decide everything herself. While she had wanted to be in charge when she had been younger, following someone else was a refreshing change.

“I’ll need to leave soon”, Andest said. Owanl said: “Thank you for spending so much effort to contact me”. Andest let go of Owanl and the moved apart. Owanl didn’t feel sad now, as she knew that she would meet Andest again later. But before he would leave, she wanted to ask him a question, one she had wanted to ask for years.

“Andest, usually–” she started, but then she saw something that silenced her: her father walked into her vision. He was standing in a place Andest wasn’t currently looking into. Owanl’s eyes widened. His appearance was so shocking that she even forgot to close her mouth. Her father didn’t say anything; he just smiled and nodded encouragingly. He seemed to know what Owanl wanted to ask, and approved of it. But then Owanl blinked – and he was gone.

“Hmm? Did you see something?” Andest said. He turned around to look, but of course, by now there was nothing to see. He soon turned back. “So, what were you saying?” Owanl started again, but the sight had made talking a bit harder: “Usually, one gets raised by their biological parents. But my father died before I was born. He didn’t raise me, my mother and later grandmother did…” Now came the hard part: “… and so did you”. Her mouth felt dry. “Can I call you… my dad?”

Andest was completely stationary. He then looked forward and started blinking rapidly. “I…” He was at loss of words. “You hold me in so high regard… I didn’t know that I was so important to you…” He sniffled. “I’d be honored”. He turned back to Owanl. Tears were falling from his eyes. “Can I call you my daughter?” Owanl felt tears in her eyes. “Of course you can… dad”. They hugged.

After the hug, Andest stood up and Owanl followed him. Andest stretched his arms and legs. “My time is up. We can’t keep this dream up much longer. We must return to our worlds. We’ll meet again after a month. Goodbye, my daughter!” “Goodbye, dad!” Owanl shouted cheerfully. This wouldn’t be a final goodbye, after all. The magic in her body began to calm down, and the room around her went dark.

Owanl woke up. She felt odd… really calm. She touched her face. It was covered in tears. ‘I have two sentinels…’ she thought. The thought made her smile. She stood up from the bed, carefully; she didn’t want to wake Deet up. Owanl sneaked to the other end of the room. There was what she was looking for: Her backpack, the one she had had when she still lived in the Primal village.

She picked the pack up and walked back to her bed. She opened the backpack and was about to cast a spell to create light, but decided against it. Andest was right: she didn’t have much magic left. Best to save it for an emergency. Owanl began searching the bag by hand. Finally she found what she was looking for: the pendant her parents had made for her.

Owanl held the pendant in the light of the heater. It was supposed to give her luck, but it wasn’t until now that she realized just how lucky she was: she was the final Lord of Science, more powerful and more intelligent than any other Reptilicus alive. She had ancient knowledge that the Primals had lost ages ago. She had survived the end of the world with nothing but nightmares and sick feelings.

And her home planet and species had survived the apocalypse: everything could be fixed. Owanl had three parents, and two of them were still looking after her despite being dead. Even the gods themselves put their faith in Owanl… or so it seemed. She said out loud: “I am Prophetess Owanl B-Shar. My mother was a Primal huntress and my father was the last Lord of Science”.

That sounded just right. Owanl put the pendant around her neck.

She felt whole.

### Temple Grounds, planet Aether, one year after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

T-Ror felt sharp pain in the back of his head. He stumbled forward, but was just able to maintain his balance. He turned around to look what had hit him. The other children had moved away from him… with the exception of E-Rch. He seemed very nervous and uncertain, like something had happened that he wasn’t prepared for.

He had to be the one that had hit T-Ror, as he was standing feet far apart from each other. He was also breathing heavily. ‘Dad said that Luminoth larvae – no, children – don’t fight’, T-Ror thought. K-Ror really didn’t like fighting. He didn’t want T-Ror to fight either… but T-Ror didn’t know what else he was supposed to do. Maybe he could try talking?

“Why did you hit me?” T-Ror asked. The pain in his head wasn’t that bad, but the situation was making him agitated. E-Rch looked around to other children, but nobody came to his aid. “You’re an Ing”, he said with a small voice. That response hurt T-Ror more than the punch had. He’d received much worse from the combat training, but now he just wanted to fit in.

E-Rch stepped closer. He had clenched one of his fists. T-Ror’s heart started beating faster. No matter what K-Ror had said, this was going to be a fight, unless he could convince E-Rch to stop right now! He bent his knees to lower his center of mass and slightly raised his arms, just in case. T-Ror then said with a slightly deeper voice: “You will not hit me again”.

That made E-Rch stop. Once again, he looked around for support, but this time, everyone backed away from him. Everyone else’s disapproval, or at the very least their lack of support, caused E-Rch to flinch. He was looking rather scared by now. At first, T-Ror thought that he had succeeded in scaring E-Rch away, but soon he crossed the distance between them and punched T-Ror.

Unfortunately for E-Rch, T-Ror saw the punch coming a mile away and effortlessly blocked him. At the same time, he stepped closer, right into E-Rch’s face. The shock of his opponent moving so fast made E-Rch gasp, but the gasp went back out of his mouth almost instantly as T-Ror punched him in the stomach.

T-Ror kept punching E-Rch until he was certain that there was no air left in the little Luminoth’s lungs. He then let go of E-Rch’s hand and stepped back. E-Rch was holding his stomach, trying (and failing) to breathe. Now that his opponent was distracted, T-Ror put most of his weight behind his next punch and hit E-Rch straight to the face.

The impact forced E-Rch to walk backwards to keep his balance. He moved his hands away from his stomach, but was too dazed to do anything productive with them. His eyes were crossed; it was uncertain how aware of his surroundings he was at this point. But he was still standing. T-Ror therefore dropped even lower and delivered a kick straight to one of E-Rch’s knees.

The kick had enough force to keep E-Rch in the air for a split-second. He quickly fell down, hitting his head in the ground. T-Ror rose up and stepped back. He was breathing rapidly. E-Rch was unable to defend himself for a short while, but soon he would surely try to attack him again. T-Ror would have to make sure that E-Rch wouldn’t be able to –

T-Ror heard a sound that made him stop. It was E-Rch. He was… crying. He was lying on the ground, curled up into a ball, holding his head and crying. He wasn’t trying to defend himself, get up or even flee! T-Ror could see a bit of tears beyond E-Rch’s hands and arms. He was clearly not a threat anymore. And his crying… sounded scarily similar to that of an Ing Larva.

T-Ror looked at his fist. It hurt, more than he thought it would. ‘Dad said that Luminoth children don’t fight’. He then looked up to see the other children. Plenty had fled, the rest had moved far away from the fight. Suddenly he felt very alone and lost. T-Ror turned around and ran, faster than he had ever run as a Dark Luminoth. He just wanted to be at home, where his father was.

### The Great Temple, planet Aether, a few hours later

U-Mos was furious. There had been a fight. A fight! It had been decacycles since the last time the Luminoth had had any internal conflict that had ended in violence. And unfortunately now that they no longer had a common foe, such things would get more common. Especially among younger Luminoth, who didn’t remember the horrors of war that well, or at all. A small downside to their happiness.

He was walking outside the room, trying to calm himself. And of course one of them had been T-Ror. Anyone could have guessed that T-Ror would get into trouble… even if after talking with him, he did seem like he wanted to live in peace. It didn’t seem like him to randomly attack others… and talking to the other children hadn’t been as helpful as he had hoped. But he had to be the one to start the fight! Because if he wasn’t, it would mean – U-Mos didn’t want to follow that trail of thought any further.

He had calmed down enough to speak. U-Mos entered the room. There they were, the two children, sitting far apart from one another. E-Rch was still holding his head, while T-Ror was curled up and shaking. Both had their parent sitting next to them, comforting them. U-Mos could feel their emotions: K-Ror was sad and worried, T-Ror was scared and the other two were angry and hurt.

When they saw him enter, both adults stood up and greeted him. T-Ror jumped down, knelt and lowered his head and said “Sentinel!” just like he had when they had last met. E-Rch tried to move, but apparently a wave of pain forced him to stay still, as he clutched his head tighter. “Sit down, please”, U-Mos said. All three sat down again. Both adults wrapped their arms around their children.

Once again, U-Mos found out T-Ror’s thoughts without actively trying: I don’t want to die. Was he often thinking like that? Sounds like a horrible way to live. U-Mos hoped that whoever was guilty would be honest enough to admit it, so everyone could put this ordeal behind them. “All right… who hit first?” he asked both of the children. “He  did!” they answered in unison. E-Rch clutched his head again.

Anger surged inside U-Mos. He sighed in disappointment. Even if the attacker insisted on dragging this out, he would end this right now. This was exactly the time to read someone’s mind, although U-Mos still wasn’t going to forcefully pull anything out. He would have to trick the children into giving it out voluntarily.

U-Mos had hoped that it wouldn’t have to come to this. Even when it was necessary, invading someone’s mind felt wrong to him. When he had been trained in psionic arts, it had been made extensively clear to him that he wasn’t to use his gift whenever he felt like it. That’s why he had talked with some other children before this meeting, but unfortunately, their accounts had been inaccurate and untrustworthy.

“Do you know what happened, K-Ror?” U-Mos asked T-Ror’s parent. K-Ror didn’t speak immediately. “When T-Ror came home, he said that… E-Rch had hit him from behind”, he said silently. “There was a small bruise in the back of his head”. E-Rch’s mother, D-Rch, looked at him venomously. “T-Ror told him to not hit him again, but E-Rch punched again. But that time, T-Ror retaliated”. He sounded so sad…

But U-Mos was just as interested in T-Ror’s thoughts: _I didn’t want to be hurt again…_ That was far too little of a surprise to U-Mos than it should have, considering their last encounter. But now that he seemed innocent, E-Rch had better seem as well. U-Mos hoped that he would, so everything would be simple like it had been during the war.

“And what about you, D-Rch?”, he asked, turning his head to face the mother. “What did E-Rch tell you?” She answered quickly and loudly: “E-Rch said that he had been playing like he always does when this monster –”, the word made T-Ror flinch, “—attacked him for no reason!” And now for E-Rch’s thoughts: _He deserved it._

Once more, wrath flared inside U-Mos. It had been E-Rch! No target of an assault would think something like that. It would be so simple to just blame everything on the darkling, but this time, a Luminoth was in the wrong. U-Mos was not going to let his people to fall into violence… to turn into monsters. Now all he had to do was to trick him into admitting it.

“So, E-Rch, who dared you into doing it?” he said. Hopefully he was guessing correctly. E-Rch said: “It was X-Sch and –” His eyes widened and he slapped his hands on his mouth. Everyone in the room was staring at him now. U-Mos clenched his fists and sighed. He had guessed right. “Go on”, he said slowly, “tell me who they were”.

“Why are you blaming my son instead of that… thing?!” D-Rch shouted and pointed at T-Ror. T-Ror flinched again and curled up into a ball, burying his face into his knees. U-Mos answered: “First off, I talked to the other children first. I had my suspicions, but this confirmed it. Secondly, I read both of the children’s minds… and they were rather talkative. Thirdly… E-Rch did admit to being guilty”. D-Rch looked away in shame. “I expect you to discipline your son after this is over”, U-Mos said.

He then turned his attention to E-Rch again. “Well, E-Rch? Who dared you?” E-Rch looked down and asked silently: “How did you know?” This question was one U-Mos was ready to answer: “Because you are too smart to do something like this on your own”. E-Rch faced him. “But he is not even a Luminoth!” he shouted. K-Ror wrapped his arm around T-Ror again.

U-Mos sighed in frustration. “Whether you like it or not, we will be a part of the Galactic Federation. We will be seeing all kinds of aliens around here, and later some may even move to live here permanently”. His voice darkened. “We cannot attack any of them just because they are not Luminoth. They are people too”. U-Mos paused before asking: “Now, E-Rch… Who did it? Who dared you?”

E-Rch looked away. He didn’t want to talk. U-Mos’ mandibles snapped with anger. He moved right next to the child. “E-Rch, I am very close to losing my temper. You will tell me who they were right now, or I will take the names from your mind with force and instead of being disciplined by your parents, I will punish all of you, and I promise you that I won’t be gentle!” His voice had been rising the whole time he had been speaking.

U-Mos hoped that E-Rch would talk, as he wasn’t going to actually try to forcefully read his mind (that was always painful and dangerous for the target). He was serious about the punishment, though. Luckily, E-Rch looked absolutely terrified and after hyperventilating for a while, he started giving names. U-Mos felt a small satisfaction. At least this would soon be over.

After E-Rch was finished, U-Mos said: “E-Rch, I am very disappointed in you”. E-Rch looked like he was about to cry. U-Mos wanted to soften the blow. “But at least you owed up your actions. That is good. Be sure to keep that in mind”. “I will, Sentinel”. He looked very miserable. As he should. U-Mos hoped that this was the last time he would need to talk with E-Rch about something like this.

Now he had to prevent this from continuing. He turned back to D-Rch. “I want to talk with the parents of the other children involved, without any children hearing. I’ll go talk with all of them in private, and we will set aside time for a group talk. Be prepared for an invitation”. D-Rch nodded. She knew that it had to be done.

But that was just one half of the prevention. He would also need to make sure that T-Ror wouldn’t react like this when – if the next time came. “And you, K-Ror”, U-Mos said to the farmer, “I want that you explain to… your child, how he should behave if the same thing happens again”. “Don’t worry, Sentinel, I will make sure of it”, K-Ror said.

A wave of relief washed over U-Mos. Finally this was over. All that was left was cleaning up, but that could be done later. “That concludes our meeting”, he said to everyone. “Goodbye!” He waved his hand. “Goodbye, Sentinel!” they responded in unison and stood up. U-Mos turned around and walked out of the room. This whole conversation had made him feel miserable. Maybe A-Qar could find a way to cheer him up.

### The Agon Wastes, planet Aether

T-Ror was following K-Ror home. They had been silent for the whole journey. When they had left the Great Temple, K-Ror had told T-Ror that they would talk once they had reached home. T-Ror was nervous. K-Ror looked completely emotionless; he was in deep thought. T-Ror hoped that he wasn’t angry or disappointed with him. He had given T-Ror so much that the last thing T-Ror wanted to do was to disappoint him.

They stepped out of the cave. Their home and the plants were now visible. The windmill was still, as now there was no wind whatsoever. T-Ror wasn’t sure if K-Ror had fixed it yet, as he had spent much of his time on the Temple Grounds. They quickly walked to the door. K-Ror held it open for T-Ror and closed it after they both got in. The sound of the door closing sounded somehow much more threatening than usual.

T-Ror turned to face his father. “Dad, I’m so sorry –” he started, but K-Ror silenced him with one word: “Quiet”. At least he didn’t sound angry; just stern. K-Ror then pointed at the bed and said: “Sit down”. T-Ror swallowed. He slowly walked to the bed and sat down. He put his hands on his knees to stop them from shaking.

K-Ror moved in front of T-Ror. He then knelt, so that their heads were at the same level. He placed his hand on T-Ror’s shoulder and sighed. After a slight pause, he spoke: “I’m not angry or disappointed. I’m just… sad that you had to go through this…” T-Ror felt relieved. He placed his hand on top of K-Ror’s hand.

“You must be careful, T-Ror”, K-Ror continued. “Everyone has lost someone they cared about in the war. Multiple someones, in most cases. And since everyone except U-Mos slept in stasis, the loss feels like it happened recently”. His grip tightened slightly. “And some of those might want for harm to come to you, as revenge. Nobody will do you much harm as long as you don’t harm others, but if incidents like this become more common… I’m worried about you”.

T-Ror simply nodded. He had expected that the Luminoth wouldn’t be welcoming at all towards him. “And that is why I will now tell you what to do if someone attacks you again”, K-Ror finished. Now T-Ror was interested. Anything to keep him out of this kind of situations again. “What should I do?” he asked. “You should find the closest adult – preferably a Luminoth, but I think that a trooper will do just fine, too – and tell them what happened, get them to solve the situation before it gets this bad”, K-Ror answered.

Silence fell to the room. “That’s it? Just talk to an adult?” T-Ror asked. That sounded far too easy. “Yes”, K-Ror responded. “But it might not be as simple as you think. You see, the other children might discourage you from telling an adult. They might call you names, even attack you. Do not listen to them!” T-Ror blinked. “Why would they do that?”

“Because they can easily picture themselves being scolded by their parents or another adult, and they don’t want that at all… much like you, right?” K-Ror explained and smiled. “But as they lack your… experiences… they really can’t imagine themselves being really hurt or crippled or… having the same thing that happened to T-Fme happen to them”. A chilling feeling flowed along T-Ror’s back.

“And so, they think that they are protecting themselves if they try to prevent you from talking with an adult. Hopefully, they will understand some day. Now, I want you to promise me that you will ignore them and seek help”. “I promise, father”, T-Ror said. He really meant it. K-Ror looked satisfied.

Then he looked sad. “Unfortunately, finding help might not always be possible. You might get cornered, or maybe an animal attacks you and you can’t get away. In that case… you can defend yourself”. The mere thought of it made him sound tired. This was a bigger surprise to T-Ror: “You mean… that I can fight… in some cases?”

“Only if you have been attacked first, and only if you can’t get away. In that case, yes”, K-Ror confirmed. “Keep in mind that U-Mos was angry at E-Rch, not you, as it had been him that had attacked you”. He then put his other hand on T-Ror’s shoulder as well. “You must remember that as a darkling, you are much stronger and tougher than any other child. You have also received much more combat training than any of the other children… more than even some adults”.

He paused for a bit. “What you did to E-Rch… you hurt him really badly. You went way too far. You are not on Dark Aether anymore, T-Ror! We’re not in a war! Thankfully, you didn’t cause him any permanent damage”. He sighed. “I’m certain that just one punch would have sent him away. Promise me that you will only use an appropriate amount of force, if you must fight”.

“I promise, dad”, T-Ror said, once again meaning it. “But won’t the others be angry at me if I fight?” K-Ror looked away. “Some will, I’m certain”. He looked back at T-Ror. “But as long as you will only defend yourself, most will be on your side. The blame lies on the one attacking first. It will be even better if you break out of the fight as soon as you can to tell an adult”.

Then K-Ror smiled. “That’s what you should do: leave, even if it means using force, and find an adult. But enough of that! You’ve now had time to play with the others, so tomorrow, we will work! We should get as much done as possible before the Federation sends someone to check us, to show that we’re not lazy! ” He hugged T-Ror. T-Ror hugged him back. Tomorrow he would become a farmer just like K-Ror!


	9. New dawn

### Background music: [Metroid Prime Trilogy Theme ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdpgLXnBCW8)  
  
Science Lord hideout, Bryyo’s coldside, sixteen months after Assault on Pirate Homeworld 

“Deet! Wake up! Wake up, Deet!” Deet’s dreams were interrupted. That didn’t bother him, as he had already rearranged all the data he had needed to. He powered up all of his systems to return from hibernation. Once his vision was online, he noticed that Owanl had brought her face right next to his. She looked very excited.

“I’m awake, I’m awake”, Deet said. “What’s the matter?” Owanl’s face was beaming. “Do you know what happens today?” she asked. Deet stood up. “How could I not know?” he asked back. He then continued: “We’re moving, back to where you lived with Andest. That’s all you’ve talked about lately”. Not that he wasn’t happy about it: their current home was small and dark, the exact opposite of SkyTown.

“Yes! We’re finally moving!” She stood up so fast that she jumped. She started walking around the room. “I can’t believe that we’re about to move to Andest’s home! It’s so much better than this hideout; I’m sure you’ll love it! I slept only a couple of hours, I just can’t stay still! This is going to be so great!” Owanl blabbered.

Deet jumped to the floor. He then asked: “Did you receive a message from the Federation yet?” Owanl shook her head. “No… not yet…” The question had made her look a bit nervous. But she quickly cheered up again and said: “But they must be on their way already! Maybe they just didn’t think that they needed to tell us when they left Norion. They’ll contact us when they’re about to land, I’m sure of it!”

Owanl had been unsuccessful in her attempts to create a communication device, but Deet’ efforts had been much more fruitful. Being an Elysian, Deet had good knowledge of the technology used in interstellar communications (though not to the level of their repairers and communications specialists). SkyTown was a large sensor array, after all.

He had used Owanl’s attempts to create a distress beacon as the base of his work. Unfortunately, the hideout didn’t have the necessary components for sending interplanetary messages, and constructing them would be a difficult and lengthy process. Luckily, Deet didn’t need them: all he needed to do was to send signals to the Elysian probe orbiting Bryyo. The probe was capable of interstellar communication, so now they could send and receive messages all over the star system.

They had used the device to communicate with the Federation on Norion. To Owanl’s relief, the Federation had been able to send soldiers to begin capturing the Primals rather soon. She had found the correct sedative in a couple of days after Patrick had left, and with Deet acquiring the data about the location of Primal villages from SkyTown, the troopers began their job a couple months ago.

Owanl had wanted to meet with some of the captives, to explain them what was happening. Unfortunately for her, the Primals had continued to devolve while she had lived apart from them. They were no longer able to speak, or to understand speech. All they had done was to scream and growl at her, just like they screamed and growled at everyone else. The experience shook Owanl, and she didn’t want to meet any more of them.

Perhaps the living Primals had been beyond salvation… but if Owanl could raise their children, she could save her species along with her planet. Deet was ready to help, of course; a friend in need is a friend indeed. At first he would have to be trained, as he had no experience whatsoever with children. Raising the young ones of one’s own species was hard enough; raising the children of an alien one would certainly be full of surprises.

A short time ago, Owanl and Deet had received a new massage from Norion: all Primal villages had been swept, along with other areas of Primal activity. All Primals had been caught, with minimal damage to both sides. A few stragglers could still be roaming, but that was unlikely. Even if they were out there, they would be few and far between, and most likely couldn’t leave any areas that weren’t full of food.

That meant that the desert of Bryyo’s hotside was completely safe. As Andest’s home was there, Owanl and Deet could finally move there. Bryyo’s sun would take care of pretty much all of their energy needs, and the garden would give Owanl some much-needed change to the mushrooms of their current hideout. Arguably even more importantly, Andest’s library and data stores were much more extensive than the hideout’s. Both would certainly enjoy them for both practical uses as well as for entertainment.

But right now, it was time to pack everything. Deet didn’t need much: he had brought nothing from Elysia with him, and would need nothing more than a few cans of Fuel Gel, just in case. Owanl would need much more things: enough food and water until they were able to produce more, the backpack Andest had given her all those years ago along with its contents, her rifle and force field in case she would need to hunt and all of her small personal belongings.

They were interrupted by the communication device. The Federation had sent them a message: the ship had just reached Bryyo and would soon land next to their home. Deet acknowledged the message and informed the ship that they wouldn’t be able to communicate further, as they would need to pack the device as well.

After packing the device, Owanl and Deet downloaded as much data from the hideout’s storages as they could. It would be easy and safe to move, unlike the books. Once they had finished their packing, Deet sat down and Owanl walked around the room, feeling too excited to stay still.

They didn’t need to wait for long until the troopers arrived. The marines offered to help them carry their belongings, which Owanl and Deet gladly accepted. Before leaving, Owanl shut down everything, the lights as well as the heater. She carefully closed the door once everyone stepped outside.

Owanl felt strange walking outdoors under the stars again. She hadn’t set a foot outside once she had entered. The air was just as cold as she remembered. “It feels so odd to leave the hideout… home… I guess I got more used to it than I thought”, she said to Deet. Deet responded: “We can come back later. It’s not like this place is going to vanish, right?” He sounded cheerful.

“Right”, Owanl said. “We’re right next to the Imperial Tomb… At some point, we’ll restore it to its former glory. You’ve seen the pictures too… This place was magnificent… As soon as the planet rotates again, all the ice and snow will melt and it’ll be warm and bright…” Both of them were silent for a while, thinking about the pictures.

“Deet… there’s one thing I’d like to do, at least once, when everything has improved”, Owanl said to Deet slightly more silently. “What is it?” Deet said. Owanl sounded a bit strange to him. “I’d like to… wear a ceremonial armor in a celebration. I’d look so fierce in one!” Her wish came out of nowhere to Deet. “I’ve seen pictures of them”, he said in a slight confusion. “I’m sure you’d look great in one!” he said more confidently. Owanl smiled.

  
 

Suits of Reptilicus ceremonial armor

Their group soon reached the spaceship. Once inside, everyone just dropped their loads on the floor. Their destination wouldn’t take a long time reach, so it would be simplest to keep everything as close to the exit as possible. The troopers moved to their positions to prepare the ship for the liftoff. The ramp was lifted up.

“This is my first time on a spaceship. Is there something I should know?” Owanl asked Deet. “Well, the liftoff can be a bit rough, so it’d be best if we sat down until we’re in air”, he said. The ship had some seats right next to them and Deet quickly jumped onto one of them. The seat was just the right size for him.

Owanl looked at the seats. She clearly wouldn’t fit. She sat down next to a wall, right in front of Deet. “What’s the matter? Are the seats too small for you? You can take two, if you need”, Deet said. “They’re a bit too small, yes”, Owanl said. “But more importantly, there’s no room for my tail. It’d be really uncomfortable to sit on them”.

“I see”, Deet said just as the ship took off. Both of them staggered. The ship quickly settled down as they began the trip. Someone soon shouted from the cockpit that they were in air now and that the passengers could move freely now. Since there wasn’t much to do around the ship, both Owanl and Deet just stayed still.

“This ship feels really cramped. It’s clearly not made for creatures of my size”, Owanl said. She laughed a bit. “You must’ve felt the reverse in the hideout, didn’t you Deet?” “Not really a problem for me, I can fly. But it can’t be nice to keep your head down all the time”, Deet said. Owanl rubbed her neck. “Right… I think I’ll prefer sitting down”.

The ship was moving incredibly smoothly; neither of them felt barely a thing. Owanl touched her arms. “Now that we’ve been inside for some time, this ship starts to feel rather cool. Is this normal?” she asked. Deet answered: “Well, all spaceships are usually cool, and a military craft like this rarely considers any luxuries. There are even no windows for us to look outside! A cruise ship would be much more comfortable, I’m sure”.

The rest of the flight was uneventful. The ship simply flew in a straight line from the hideout to their destination. There weren't any storms on the way, either. It all blended together, especially as they had no windows and couldn’t look at the landscape while flying. After they reached their destination, someone told the passengers to brace for landing. The ship landed with no issues whatsoever.

### Lair of the last Lord of Science, Bryyo’s hotside

The ramp was lowered. Everyone got up and picked up what they had brought to the ship. As Owanl walked out of the ship, the scorching air hit her face. ‘Is this a particularly hot day, or was it always this scorching?’. she thought. The desert felt like a furnace. Good that Andest’s home was right next to the landing site.

The group quickly reached the front door. Its energy shield was still functioning. As the troopers had their hands full, Owanl opened the door with a spell. They entered the building. The place had been abandoned years ago, so a thick layer of dust covered everything. Fortunately, the desert was too hot and dry for just about all animals, and the door could keep the remaining ones outside, so at least it would be completely empty of them.

A Bryyonian Door in Gel Hall

The first room was small. It only had a few lockers for clothes and some stools to help one change their clothes. The air inside was at least a bit cooler than outdoors, as the sunlight didn’t reach there. The room functioned a bit like an airlock: it kept the heat and the sand of the desert outside the rest of the building.

Behind the other door in the room was a hallway. It was even cooler than the first room, though still much warmer than the hideout had been. The door had kept the coarse sand of the desert outside the hall, but years of abandonment had amassed quite a bit of fine dust on the floor. The hall was also dark: the lights had gone out along with the power. Only the daylight from the door lit the place.

Owanl sighed. The lair was a mess, and taking care of everything would take some time, but now she felt like she had returned to home. “Thank you for your help! You can just leave everything here” Owanl said to the troopers. Everyone put down what they were carrying. Owanl and Deet waved goodbye as the troopers walked back to their ship.

“Well, we’re finally here! Let’s take the transmitter to the living area”, Owanl said to Deet. She conjured a ball of light to help them see. They picked up the dismantled device and moved to a larger room. It didn’t take long to put the device back together. Deet tested it by sending a message to the ship that had carried them to the hotside. The ship acknowledged the message, confirming that the transmitter was functioning at full capacity.

“So, what next?” Deet asked. “Let’s turn the generator online. It’ll be much better once we have light”, Owanl said. She started moving towards the generator room. Deet followed her. “How do we keep the generator running? Does this place have a lake of Fuel Gel as well?” he asked. “More of a stream, really”, Owanl answered. “Most of this place is actually powered by solar panels, but something must be wrong with them as well. They’re controlled from the same place”.

They walked in the darkness, with Owanl’s ball and Deet’s eyes as the only sources of light. Deet’s eyes weren’t all that bright, so only the pale magical light illuminated the halls. Owanl could still remember the layout of the lair, so she knew where they would have to go, even if now the place was dark.

The generator room was rather close. It had a heavy metal door, to keep any possible fire both in and out (not that fire could spread easily, as the lair was made of stone). Once inside, Owanl guided the magical ball to just below the room’s offline light. “Here we are”, Owanl said. Deet looked around. The room had a large generator, a breaker/fuse box and shelves full of electric equipment.

Owanl first moved to the generator. Deet followed her and said: “It looks a bit like the generators in SkyTown. I can’t see any fault in it”. Owanl inspected the generator. “I can’t find any problems either. It seems to simply be offline”. She looked at a gauge. “There’s still some Fuel Gel in the tank, but it might’ve gone bad”.

She stepped away from the generator. “We shouldn’t need to use it if we don’t use any demanding devices, like the portal or the Monegars. Let’s focus on solar power for now”. Owanl walked to the box and opened it. After examining its contents for a while, she said: “The lever is on, but there’s no power. Let’s turn it off for starters”. She pulled the lever to break the circuit. Now nobody would get accidently zapped.

Deet said: “If the power had been on for years, the problem might just be a burned fuse or a snapped wire or something similar easy to fix”. Owanl nodded. “I hope so. I really don’t want to try to fix the solar panels”. They both stared at the fuses. Deet said: “I’ve never seen fuses like that, but they all look the same, so they should be still functioning, right?”

“No, I think that they’re all burned”. She took one fuse off and showed it to Deet. “Look, here. The cap has blown off. We’ll have to change all of them”. Owanl removed the remaining fuses and then walked to the shelves. Deet followed her. They began looking for intact fuses, which they luckily soon found. Owanl also stored the burned fuses on the shelves. She could fix them later.

Owanl then placed the fuses they had found in the empty sockets in the fuse box. “That should do it”, she said, sounding satisfied. Then she realized something: “Wait! If the fuses had burned out, won’t these fuses burn out as well?” Deet thought about it for a while. “I don’t think so”, he finally said. “It probably took years for the old fuses to burn out, so it should be safe turn the power on”.

“However”, he continued, “we should turn off all lights we don’t need as soon as we can to prevent any further damages”. Owanl looked at the fuses. “If you say so… I still want to test with just one fuse first”, she said and removed all but one fuse. She was about to pull down the lever, but she hesitated. She then said: “Let’s move away, just in case it blows up or something. I’ll turn it on with a spell”.

Both moved away from the box. Owanl then cast a spell. The lever moved on its own and… nothing else happened. “Well… at least nothing blew up”, Owanl said. “Yes. It either functions like it should or it is still broken, so not much has changed. Let’s hope for the former”, Deet said. Owanl walked back to the box and lifted the lever once more. She put all the fuses back, moved away and cast the spell again.

This time, the light in the ceiling of the generator room flickered on. “It works!” Deet said cheerfully. “Much better”, Owanl said as she dispelled the magical light. “Now that we can see better, I can show you the rest of the lair”, she continued. Next she walked to the box one last time and closed its lid. She turned to Deet again. “Let’s go take a look! We can shut down the unneeded lights as we go”.

They walked through the now-lit, dusty halls, turning off lights as they passed by. Most of the rooms they peeked in were storage room that contained all kinds of items. “We’ll have to turn on the air conditioning as well, it’s a bit too hot for me”, Owanl said. “You probably want that too, right? To prevent you from overheating”.

“Yes”, Deet said, “although I’m rather heat-resistant. Just keep the temperature at what you like. I’m actually more worried about the dust. I don’t want any of it getting into my joints. That feels really uncomfortable”. Owanl could believe that: she remembered the last time she was covered in sand. “I’ll clean the floors once we’ve settled everything down”.

They arrived on a shielded door, like the one in the building’s main entrance. “This is the greenhouse. Our food grows here… well, my food. You don’t need any”. She chuckled, then hesitated and looked serious. “I really hope it’s intact. I’m pretty sure that the Federation could feed me, but I don’t want to be so dependent on them. They’ve already given me so much”. Deet had as well, of course.

Owanl opened the door. The ceiling of the greenhouse was made of glass, and the desert sun was blazing through it. Unlike in the rest of the building, the air inside was surprisingly humid, but only in comparison to a desert. The greenhouse had its own solar panels and circuitry to keep it mostly operational even when the rest of the building went dark… which had happened.

This meant that, while time had taken its toll in the greenhouse, everything was not lost. Some of the pumps that watered the plants were still online. And not all of the plants even needed them: they were adapted to desert, and could survive with minimal water. A pipe leading to an underwater stream was open, and it supplied enough humidity to keep those plants alive. The stream was the source of water to the whole building.

Unfortunately, for every failed pump, there was a row of withered plants. Perhaps magic could restore some of them, but many had crumbled to dust, leaving no chance to save them. But on the whole… “It survived!” Owanl shouted. “There’s enough food for me, and I can replant everything that has withered!” She sighed with relief. “I’ll never have to eat a mushroom again!”

“Don’t you like mushrooms? You eat them all the time”, Deet asked. Owanl looked at him. “If you eat one thing many times in a row, it starts to taste worse… and I’ve eaten those mushrooms for years. I didn’t have a choice, that’s all the hideout had. Now that I can choose, I want something else.” Deet stared at her. “Well, I guess that’s just something I can never fully understand”, he said.

He looked around and continued: “This place feels nice… it’s a bit like SkyTown”. He looked back at Owanl. “I know how important this is to you, so I’ll help you out”. Owanl smiled. “Thanks. Let’s take a closer look around here later – I still want to show you the rest of the building”. They returned to the hallway.

They soon arrived to another door. Owanl said: “I’m sure you’ll like this room a lot!” She opened the door. The room in behind the door had been Andest’s library. Now it was Owanl’s library. Like everywhere else, dust covered every surface of the room. Countless books filled the shelves of the room. There were also various screens and electronic data storing devices.

“Almost all of Bryyo’s history is in this room…” Owanl continued. Her voice trailed off. Now she had realized just how valuable this room was. If anything in here was destroyed, it would be lost forever. That piece of her culture would be as if it had never existed. Owanl would need to take backups of everything. Now that was her responsibility.

They entered the room. Fond memories filled Owanl’s mind. She had taken part in many adventures inside these walls. She preferred them to her real ones. Deet was in awe. “Wow… So much data… I want to go through it all…” Owanl looked at him. “I know that you are collecting data on Bryyo, but do you really need everything from here? Most of these books are fiction”.

“I’m collecting data, yes”, Deet said, “but I personally want to know more about Bryyo. That’s why I was so excited about getting here!” Owanl turned to face him. “Really? You want to know more about Bryyo? I thought that you were sent here just to collect data and help me!” She paused for a while. “Why are you so interested in Bryyo?”

Deet looked down. “Once SkyTown started running out of power, we Elysians went to hibernation”, he said silently. “And while we slept, our probes kept sending us their recordings. We saw those recording as dreams… The dreams about Bryyo were my favorite. A great civilization on a paradise, and so close to me… Then, a planet-wide war… a planet-wrecking war… then, silence… nothing… maybe a few sparks here and there, but for the most part, Bryyo went silent”.

Owanl knelt next to Deet. “You were… alive… during our golden age? How much do you remember?!” She sounded desperate. Deet sighed. “I saw those dreams centuries ago… It’s all hazy now. And the few things I do remember are just pretty pictures. I don’t understand why any of it happens, what it means”. Owanl’s head fell. Deet wanted to cheer her up. “If I find something here, I can probably extrapolate for you”.

Owanl rose up. “Right… thanks…” She drew breath. “Well, if you have any questions of Bryyo today, I can answer them after we’ve brought our belongings to the living area. Speaking of which, let’s go there next!” They walked to the door, but both stopped just as they were about to step out. They looked back. Both of them wanted to just pick a book and start reading. “We’ll clean this place right after we’ve taken care of the living area, right?” Owanl said to Deet. He nodded.

The living area was located close to the library. Those had been the most used rooms for Andest, after all. This was the room they had brought the transmitter in, but now they had time to examine the room a bit better. The main living room also had a kitchen inside it, so Owanl could make food for herself here. It also had an assortment of chairs, couches and tables for reading, watching, listening, eating or just relaxing. The most comfortable armchair was next to a fireplace.

One table had an extra light and tools for repairing broken devices as well as making new ones. Next to it was a shelf filled with extra tools, parts and some well-worn books and electric data stores. A screen and a player were in front of a couch. “This is the living room. We’ll move our belongings here as soon as I’ve finished showing you the building. What do you think about this room?”

“I think it’s nice. It resembles the hideout a bit. The window is especially great”, Deet said as he looked out of the said window. Owanl looked out of the window as well. As always, not a single cloud was flying across the sky. The sunlight was blasting into the room with its full power, creating an almost blinding patch next to the armchair by the fireplace. At least they didn’t need to worry about light or heat here.

Next, they briefly visited the bedrooms. All of them were small, and had little more than a bed, chair, cupboard and a shelf. The rooms Andest and Owanl had used were lightly covered in dust: the unused ones were buried in it. Owanl and Deet decided to sleep in the living room; at least until they had cleaned the entire building and put everything they had where they belonged.

Soon, they arrived to yet another door. “This is the Portal room. I fled the Primals by using the portal in this room. Andest also used this room as a storage”, Owanl said. She opened the door and they entered the room. All kinds of objects filled the floor next to the walls, and the portal the room was named after was located directly opposite from the door.

Like the other rooms, the Portal room was covered in dust. But there was something was lying on the floor next to the portal that hadn’t been there the last time Owanl had been in the room. Both she and Deet stared it silently. Finally Deet asked: “Is that…?” Owanl confirmed his guess by whispering: “A-Andest…” That was all she could say.

Andest’s body was still in the room, as if he had never left. The floor around it was covered in huge pools of dried blood. His clothes were torn to shreds, revealing massive wounds underneath. His face still looked like he was in great pain. It was apparent that the death of the last Lord of Science had been brutal, savage and painful – but also mercifully short.

Owanl’s entire body started shaking. Deet looked at her and almost jumped back after noticing her expression. He had never seen her in that much pain. “Owanl?” he asked, but she was already hyperventilating and couldn’t speak. She couldn’t take her eyes off of Andest’s mummified corpse.

Deet had to help her. He lifted off and flew in front of her. He then slowly moved forward until he touched Owanl’s chest. “Let’s get out of here”, he said and started gently pushing Owanl. Owanl didn’t really resist him, and she started slowly walking backwards. After a while, they were back in the hallway.

As soon as the door closed and the horrible sight was gone, Owanl collapsed and started crying. Deet landed and put one of his legs on hers. “It’s okay…” he said. Owanl started sobbing: “P-Primals not bury Andest! Primals l-leave Andest there! Not right!” That was all she could say. She continued crying.

Deet was slightly confused. He carefully asked Owanl: “Andest is fine, right? You talk with him every month, don’t you?” Owanl drew breath a few times and then said slowly: “I know that he’s dead… and that’s not a big issue to us. I just… wasn’t prepared to see his body like that… so suddenly…” She looked at Deet. “You’re not supposed to leave bodies like that. Unburied, like they left Andest. That’s extremely disrespectful. And the Primals knew it!”

“… of course, that was the point, I think”, Owanl continued. “You wouldn’t believe how much they hated him. They thought that he was a monster”. This talk of hate made Deet feel even more uncomfortable. “But we can bury him, right?” he asked. Owanl nodded. “Yes. The next time we talk, I’ll ask him where he wants to be buried”.

Owanl stood up. “There’s one more place I want to show you. Then we can start turning this place from house into home”. They started moving again. This time they had to walk a bit more, as their destination was in the other side of the lair, next to the main entrance. This room had a door with an energy shield as well.

The room was the house’s garage. The vehicles Andest and Owanl had used were still there, covered in dust just like everything else. “Just where we left them”, Owanl said to Deet. “With these, we can go just about anywhere… if we ever need to”. Deet walked closer to one of the vehicles. “Are they still operational? After all these years?” Owanl shrugged. “If not, it shouldn’t be too difficult to fix them”.

Now that Deet had seen the whole lair, it was time to move everything they had brought with them to the living area. After a few trips, they were done. Dropping their belongings on the floor had created gusts of wind, throwing all the dust on the ground into the air. It started to get difficult to see in the room.

Owanl had covered her mouth and nose with her hands. Deet wasn’t bothered by the dust. “Now we really should start cleaning this place”, he said. “Yes, I’ll open the window first”, Owanl said. The window was clearly visible, as the rays of sunlight were clearly visible in the dust. As Owanl opened the window, the new current of air pulled a bit of the dust outside.

“That helps a bit”, Owanl said as she stepped away from the window. Deet moved closer to her and asked: “So, how do we go about the cleaning? Do we use some kind of a machine?” Owanl thought about it a while. “We could, but now that we have a window…” She cast a spell and a strong wind appeared in the room.

At first, not much seemed to happen (other than dust moving around much faster than before), but then Owanl opened the door. Now the wind blew from the door to the window, and all the dust started flying back to the desert. “And that about does it, for the most part!” Owanl said with a satisfied look on her face.

“That’s it? I thought it would be much harder”, Deet said. He sighed. “I feel a bit useless…” Owanl walked to him. “Cheer up! The spell only takes care of the dust in the air, so now we have to get it out of all the chairs, cupboards and such. You can help me with that”. She moved to a cupboard, opened it and blew, causing a new cloud of dust appear. Deet happily obliged and jumped on a chair. As a reward, he was now in the center of another cloud.

After a while, the room was clean, or at least cleaner than it had been in years. Owanl closed the window and took a deep breath. She didn’t cough. “Much better”, she said, sounding relieved. Then her head fell. “Then the rest of the building… then it’s time to build Andest’s machines…” Owanl covered her face with her upper hands and sighed.

Deet began to feel worried. “Owanl, we are not in that big of a rush! It’s been a hard day, we both need to recharge. You should eat, and then we can rest”. He took off and flew right in front of Owanl, so that their faces were right next to each other. “I know seeing Andest’s corpse hurt you, and you have my condolences. But you need to look after yourself as well. Who will complete your mission if something happens to you?”

Owanl started smiling. “Thanks, Deet. You are right, of course. Seeing dad like that was–” She stopped. After a short pause, she swallowed. “I really should eat now. I’m much hungrier than I thought”. Instead of using the cooking equipment of the room, Owanl just took some lunch from their bags. Meanwhile, Deet charged himself.

Next, they went through all the items in the room and checked whether they were still functional. They spent quite some time on going through all kinds of files on the room’s computer. Time flew by, and soon it was time for Owanl to eat again. Like before, she took some food from her bag, while Deet charged himself again.

After they had finished their supper, they decided that now it was time to sleep. The cleaned room didn’t have any beds, so Owanl would sleep in the biggest couch. She took off the pillows from the back of the couch and put one next to the armrest. The other she put on the ground for Deet. Deet happily jumped on the pillow.

Owanl fetched a blanket from their bags and fell on the couch. The constant use of magic had gotten rather tiring. “After we’ve taken care of the farm, we’ll take a short break”, she said to Deet. “There’s so much in the library I want to show you! I’m sure you’ll enjoy them just as much as I did!” Deet turned a bit towards her. “I can’t wait for it!”

Owanl placed her hand on Deet. “Deet… thanks for taking care of me…” Deet moved slightly. “Thanks for taking care of me too. And you’re welcome”.

### Lair of the final Lord of Science, twenty months after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

Owanl stood in the hot wind nervously. This was it! After all these years, the machines were finally complete! These machines would complete the fleet whose first members were activated centuries ago. Together, the fleet could make Bryyo rotate again, as well as finally start actually dealing with Bryyo’s contamination.

Ages ago, the Lords of Science had built similar machines. Said machines had absorbed all kinds of poisons left over by the war between the Lords of Science and the Primal Traditions. They had prevented the destruction of Bryyo’s surviving nature, at the cost of stopping Bryyo’s rotation and dooming the less fortunate areas to become even more uninhabitable.

That’s all the Lords of Science had had time and resources to do. Over the following centuries, Andest had tirelessly worked to finish the fleet. While he had had magic to help him, he was also hiding, out of resources and completely alone. After Owanl had arrived, he had also tried to improve the machines to protect Bryyo from the Leviathan.

“They’re ready to go, aren’t they?” Owanl asked Deet. They had followed Andest’s plans, but the plans themselves had been changed many times. Some of the pollution stored in the already launched machines had apparently turned harmless, so modules for dealing with them could be removed. And the Leviathan had already been dealt with, so those last-minute changes had been scrapped as well.

“Owanl”, Deet said slowly, “you’ve made the small-scale versions of them so many times already. We both know exactly how they work and what they do. Go on, launch them! That’s what you’ve been practicing for so long!” Owanl smiled and relaxed a bit. All those practices Andest had left her had really paid off. She swallowed and took a breath. “Okay… Launching in five… four… three… two… one…” She pressed the button.

A low, rumbling sound filled the air. Slowly but surely, the machines began rising. Wind changed its direction: now it was blowing towards the machines, to fill the holes the moving machines had made. They moved faster and faster. Owanl and Deet watched as the machines began to appear to shrink as they flew higher and higher, into space to meet their fleet.

“They work”, Owanl finally whispered. She sat down. Deet looked at her. “Is something wrong?” he asked. Owanl shook her head. “No, it’s just that… This has been my goal for years. Back in the hideout, when I was alone, it felt like something I’d never achieve. But now, we’ve done it. It’s over. Bryyo will finish healing. It will start rotating again”.

She stood up and rolled her shoulders. “I feel kind of… free. Like a burden had been lifted from my shoulders”. She looked directly at Deet. “A burden weighing like a planet!” Abruptly, they both started laughing. Both were very happy about their accomplishment. Owanl then said: “I’d like to show you something. Follow me”.

They moved to the garage. The garage had been cleaned a while ago, but it still looked messy. “Have you built something in secret?” Deet asked. “Not really. I’ve tried to repair these vehicles. Luckily, they just needed cleaning and changing the lubricants and such, nobody had tried to break them while I was gone”, Owanl responded. “What I want to show you is rather far away, so we’ll need to drive. Do you want to ride along?”

“Sure, I’d love to”, Deet said. Owanl did something to the vehicle, so that it could be pushed outside. “Hop in!” she shouted after she had finished pushing. Deet flew to the front of the vehicle. Owanl was about to follow, but she changed her mind. “Oh, I almost forgot!” she said and ran back inside. She returned carrying a shovel. Owanl placed the shovel on the ground and kicked it in. She jumped on it a few times to make sure that it wouldn’t move.

“Okay, we’re ready to go!” Owanl exclaimed and jumped on the driver’s seat. Soon, the vehicle hummed on and they were off. Now that they were moving so fast, the wind started to feel rather cool, even if it was still dry. “Where are we going exactly?!” Deet shouted over the wind. “To my tribe’s camp! The Federation has caught them all, so it’ll be safe!” Owanl shouted back.

They travelled up and down the dunes of the desert. At first, there wasn’t much to see, just dune after dune in every direction. The only interesting thing was the mountain that had appeared in the horizon: it was getting bigger and bigger as they drove closer. “That mountain will be our first stop! It’s where I slept during my journey from the camp to Andest!” Owanl said to Deet.

In the end, the trip through the desert which had taken Owanl ages when she was younger (and nearly her life as well) took them now less than an hour. Owanl stopped their vehicle in the shadow of the mountain and both passengers disembarked. “I slept in that cave”, Owanl said and pointed at the cave in question. Deet walked in and Owanl followed.

Deet stopped just after he had entered the cave. Not that there was much point in walking further, as he could easily see the entire cave from the entrance. He stood silently as he examined the cave. “Doesn’t seem too comfortable”, he finally exclaimed. Owanl chuckled. “It really wasn’t, but at least it covered me from the wind and the sun”.

As there really wasn’t much to see in the small cave, Owanl and Deet soon left it, entered their vehicle again and continued their journey. “How could you sleep in a cave like that? I thought that you needed a soft place to sleep, as you aren’t made of metal like me”, Deet said. “Well…” Owanl said slowly, “I had my backpack to soften the place… and back then, I was used to a much harsher life, with little modern comforts. I was actually more bothered by the heat of the air than the hardness of the ground”.

Next, they drove through the savannah. The long, dry grass moved gently in the wind. It almost felt like they were moving on an ocean. The only things breaking the impression were the trees that stuck out from the grass here and there. Outside of the noise of the vehicle and the wind in the grass, the savannah was completely silent, almost as if it was waiting for something.

Like their journey through the desert, their trip through the savannah had taken only fraction of what it had taken Owanl the last time she had been there. Soon they could see a forest. “That’s the forest where I lived my childhood!” Owanl shouted to Deet. They slowed down as they entered the woods.

Their next stop was almost at the edge of the forest: it was the pond where Owanl had stopped during her journey. “I stopped by this lake when I fled my tribe to meet Andest”, she told Deet. “I had slept only a couple of hours after hunting with Skaan, and then I had to sail here on a bridge, so this seemed like a good place to eat and rest”. She looked at the pond and added slowly: “…in addition, my hand was still –”

Owanl stopped speaking. Her eyes had widened. Deet asked: “What’s wrong?” Owanl responded silently: “Why does it do that?” She sounded like she had trouble believing what she was seeing. Deet looked to the pond too. At first, nothing seemed to catch his eye. ‘Maybe it’s something only someone who has lived their life in a forest can notice?’ he thought.

Just as he was about to ask Owanl, Deet saw it. On one bank of the pond, the water was really low: the bottom of the pond could be seen. On the other end, the water was unusually high: it had flooded onto the grass. Deet was surprised by this phenomenon as well. He had never heard about anything like it.

Then a realization hit him: “It’s because the planet is accelerating!” he answered to Owanl’s question. “Your machines are making the planet spin again, and so the acceleration slightly pushes the water!” Owanl inhaled sharply and her eyes flashed. “Of course! Bryyo is spinning again… as it should…” She quickly looked away from the pond and said: “Let’s move again. We’re almost there!”

Once more they entered the vehicle and started going. This time, they drove in the forest, so they couldn’t drive quite as fast. Deet shouted to Owanl: “What were you about to say?!” “Say when?” “Back at the pond! About your hand!” Owanl answered after a pause: “It was still covered in Skaan’s blood, so I wanted to wash it!”

They traveled some time. Deet wanted to ask more, but he wasn’t sure if it was okay to ask it. He decided to go for it: “Who was Skaan?! You haven’t talked much about your time with the tribe!” Owanl’s answer came slowly and was difficult to hear: “A friend…” “Why was his blood on your hand?!”

“He thought I would harm the tribe by going to the last Lord of Science, so he tried to stop me! I had to… go through him…” Deet started to feel uncomfortable. “Didn’t you tell him why you had to do it?!” Owanl shouted with angry voice: “I did! He didn’t understand! The Primals don’t understand! They’re too devolved! Too full of hate!” Deet didn’t respond anymore. He didn’t want to cause any more distress to Owanl.

After some time had passed, they finally reached their destination: the village of Owanl’s tribe. “This is where I grew up”, Owanl said to Deet as they exited the vehicle. “You wanted to know more about Bryyo, right?” She turned to face Deet. “I thought that now would be a good time to show you this place… Feel free to poke around and ask me questions”.

“Wow! You drove all the way here just to let me examine this place? Thanks, Owanl!” Deet said excitedly. He ran forward a bit and then spun in place to look everywhere. He then asked Owanl: “Do you still remember where everything is? Or has it been… too long?” He hoped that he wouldn’t accidently do or say something that would hurt Owanl.

“No, I can remember the camp quite well… but we put up and pulled down tents as we needed. New tents appeared if we had surplus resources or if a new family was formed, and old ones were taken down once they… got empty. It’s been years since I’ve last been here, so some tents must’ve changed”. She drew breath. “But some tents wouldn’t be moved. I’ll show you!”

They arrived to a big tent. Owanl started explaining: “The chieftain, of course, lives in the biggest tent. This tent belonged to Amtti Gslyss, our chieftain. The chieftain needs a big tent, because he has to store all kinds of important trinkets”. She took a hard look at the tent. “You can enter if you want, but I won’t follow”. Deet asked: “Why is that? You don’t want to disrespect him?” “No, it’s…” Owanl paused and then said silently: “Amtti was Skaan’s father”.

The revelation shook Deet, but he nevertheless entered the chieftain’s tent. He returned after a while. “Owanl… Can I take anything for closer inspection?” Owanl thought about it. “If you can carry it… our ride can’t really carry that much. We can return later if you want to take something big. And we have to be careful, I don’t want to disrespect anything here… no matter what my tribe would think about me now…”

They next moved to another tent. This one had much more elaborate markings than the others. “And someone important lived in this tent, right?” Deet asked. Owanl nodded and said slowly: “Yes… the prophetess of the tribe… Hixxn – Hixxn B-Shar… my grandmother” She was holding back her tears. “I can show you what the markings mean when we get home, I’ve found a picture of them. I’d… I’d like to enter the tent with you”.

Inside the tent, Deet carefully examined the prophetess’ tent, occasionally asking Owanl about the uses of the objects around them. Once he was finished studying, Owanl put some of the smaller items into her pockets. They left the tent and walked all around the camp, with Deet asking more questions about the Primals.

After visiting every place in the camp, it was time for Owanl and Deet to return home. They walked back to their vehicle, but this time it was Owanl’s turn to notice something: right at the edge of the forest, there were some fresh fruits, just growing there. “Fruits…” Owanl whispered before running to them. Deet followed her.

Owanl picked up one of the fruits and smiled. Deet asked: “What’s so special about these fruits? The farm in our home works just fine, doesn’t it?” Owanl twitched like Deet had just woken her. She turned to Deet and said: “These fruits used to be my favorites when I was young. It’s been years since I last ate them”. She looked a bit sadder.

“What made them your favorites?” Deet asked, and then added: “If you can explain it to me”. Owanl answered: “They tasted sweeter than anything else I’ve ever eaten. And they had better flavor than the berries”. Deet sighed. “I guess that this is just one of the things I can never truly understand…” Owanl said sadly: “Funny”. She lifted the fruit higher and looked at it. “I can’t remember what they tasted like…” Deet said gently: “Well, why not refresh your memory?”

Owanl followed Deet’s suggestion and carefully took a big bite out of the fruit. She closed her eyes and slowly chewed the piece before swallowing it. “So, is it good?” Deet asked. Owanl opened her eyes. Tears dropped out of them. “How could I have forgotten?” she said silently. Then she looked at Deet and said louder: “Yes. Very”. She took another bite.

“I wish that I could experience that too…” Deet said, “…but nevertheless, I’m happy for you”. Owanl continued eating the fruit, savoring every bite. After a while, the fruit was gone. Not entirely, though. Owanl knelt and showed Deet a few small wet spheres. “All fruits have seeds in them. That’s why the plants make them in the first place”, she explained. “And with these seeds, I can grow my own fruits!”

Owanl picked up a few more fruits. Her pockets had started to get rather full. She and Deet jumped back to their vehicle and started their journey home. Now they could travel the entire way without stopping. After traveling a while, the silence of the planet began to bother them, so they started talking to pass time. Now was Owanl’s turn to ask Deet about SkyTown.

Sadly, like Bryyo, SkyTown had been in a bad state for centuries. Everyone had slept, so there wasn’t much to tell. The only interesting thing was the war, and neither wanted to talk about it. Still, they moved quickly, and soon reached their home. Deet jumped off, and Owanl backed the vehicle back to the garage. “That was interesting. Thank you, Owanl!” Deet said. “What do you want to do now?” he asked.

Owanl pointed at the shovel she had placed earlier. “Look”. Deet walked closer. He carefully examined the shovel. “It’s a shovel. Is there something special about it? I can’t see anything odd”, he said. Owanl walked closer as well. She shook her head and said: “Ignore the shovel. Look at the ground it stands on!”

Deet stepped backwards and looked at the ground. “There’s a line drawn from the shovel… but why?” he wondered. “I drew the line inside the shadow when we left”, Owanl said. Deet looked back to the ground. The shadow was right next to the line. “It’s not under the shadow anymore, as the planet rotates –” he started, but Owanl interrupted him: “Bryyo doesn’t”.

‘She sounds odd’, Deet thought as he turned to look at her. Owanl was staring intensively at the line and the shadow and she was clenching her fists. She continued: “Or it didn’t, until now”. She sounded very tense. “Are you okay, Owanl? You sound distressed”, Deet said. Owanl started talking: “I… uhm… I-I’m –”

She sat down on the ground and wrapped all of her arms around her legs. “…scared, Deet. I’m scared”. Owanl started shaking. Deet stepped right next to her and asked: “What are you scared of? Bryyo’s rotation?” “YES!” Owanl shouted. She was breathing heavily. “I know that most planets rotate, and so did Bryyo, centuries ago. That’s what everyone else is used to. Making Bryyo spin once more has been my goal for years”.

Owanl pressed her face in her knees. Her tail twitched. “But it feels so wrong! All my life, the sun has been in the same place! That’s something you could always count on! Maybe the clouds could get in the way, but it never moved! It’s not right for the sun to just… move away!” The very thought of such thing terrified her.

Deet felt powerless. “Is there… anything I can do to improve your mood?” he asked. “Yes!” Owanl said. She abruptly stood up and looked at Deet. “Distract me. Let’s go to the library. I can show you the picture of the markings on my grandmother’s tent now”. She paused. “We could also… read books… we’ve earned some time off…”

And so they headed to Owanl’s library. Once there, Owanl showed Deet the picture they had talked about as well as many other pictures and texts about the Primals and their culture and beliefs. Deet also asked her many questions about her own tribe’s ways. They both were reading books when Owanl glanced outside and noticed that everything had gone red. She closed her book and said: “Deet! Now is the time! Let’s go to the roof!”

Deet looked at her. “Why? Isn’t it getting late? Aren’t we going to go to sleep?” Owanl stood up. “This is the first sunset Bryyo has had in centuries. Of course we’re going to watch it; it’s supposed to be a really beautiful sight to behold”. She walked to Deet and continued: “And… I’m a bit scared. I’d like to have company”.

They rushed to the roof and sat on the western edge. The air was getting a bit cooler, but since they lived in a desert, it was still rather warm. Despite the warmth, Owanl was still shaking. Deet put his leg on her hand. “This seems to be really difficult for you, but don’t worry, I’m here for you”. Owanl leaned back, trying to relax a bit. She said: “From now on, this is the new normal. I must face my fears and get used to this”.

The Reptilicus and the Elysian sat on the roof and silently watched as the sun climbed downer and downer. Just as the sun was about to touch the horizon, Owanl felt the gentlest of touches on her upper right hand. Her heart skipped a beat. She instantly knew what it was, and that she couldn’t look to her right. She looked at Deet, who was sitting in her lift side.

“Deet”, she said, “could you keep looking forward and stay silent until I tell you otherwise? It’s really important to me”. Deet was puzzled by the request, but he still said: “Erm… okay. If that makes you happy”. Owanl looked back to the sun. “Thank you, Deet”. Silence fell on the roof again. After a while, Owanl broke it: “Owanl happy dad here”.

She felt Deet almost jump in surprise, but he kept his word and tried his best to ignore her. Meanwhile, the hand she felt the touch was enveloped in the gentle warmth. Owanl felt so happy and safe right now. She kept talking: “Owanl finish quest. Like dad. Save Bryyo”. A warm gust in her right moved air closer to her.

The sun was getting lower… and the shadows were getting longer. This would be the first time Owanl would see a truly dark night. Even during her stay on the coldside, she had stayed close to the hotside, so it had still been pretty bright. “Owanl make dad proud?” she asked carefully. The touch on her hand became slightly more firm (or, perhaps more accurately, corporeal). In addition, a similar feeling enveloped her shoulders and neck. Owanl wished she could respond.

And the sun kept moving. After a while, it fell below the horizon. Now only light red glow told where the sun was. It would start to fade soon. “If dad want rest, Owanl understand”, Owanl said. The warm feelings seemed to get even warmer for a while. Then they were gone, for now at least.

Owanl took a deep breath and said: “Thank you, Deet. This was a rare opportunity for me”. Deet looked at her direction and said: “Was that Andest? Didn’t you say that he can only contact you through your dreams?” Owanl shook her head. “No, that was my father… my biological father, that is. He was Hixxn’s son”.

Deet started to feel uncomfortable. Not because a ghost had sat next to him, but rather because of what he was about to ask. He asked: “I’m sorry about this question, but I have to ask: why did you talk like that?” Owanl shifted her weight nervously. “It’s… I talk like that… that’s how I learned to talk…” she mumbled.

“Odd. I’ve only heard you talk like that once: when we found Andest’s body. I just thought you were too devastated to talk like you usually do”, Deet said. Owanl felt embarrassed. She sighed. “That’s how Primals talk… or at least how they used to talk… before the Leviathan arrived… but it’s so limited… Andest taught me how to talk like a Lord of Science. I wanted to talk like a Primal for my father, just this once at least”.

“Hmm… Are we going to sleep now?” Deet said. He stood up. “The air temperature has already dropped, and it’ll surely drop further”. “No”. Owanl stood up as well. “I want to see the first sunrise as well”. Deet stared at her. “Are you going to stay up the whole night? What about tomorrow? Do you have any idea how long you’d have to stay awake?”

“I’ll… manage. Somehow. Just this once”, Owanl said. She sounded weary. “In that case”, Deet said, “let’s sleep in turns. I can take the first one, so you’ll surely see the sunrise”. “Great idea!” Owanl said cheerfully. “Let’s go inside, then!” They started moving, but Deet stopped almost instantly. “Wait”, he said. He looked around him. “It’s dark. The solar panels aren’t working. I can’t charge”. He paused. “Should we turn on the generator?”

Owanl thought about it for a while. She then asked: “Do you have enough power to last until morning?” Deet nodded. “Easily”. “In that case”, Owanl continued, “how about you don’t charge tonight? You can charge in the morning if you want. We should think about how to conserve energy during nighttime; I don’t like the idea of wasting Fuel Gel. We can start by turning off most lights”.

“Sounds good to me”, Deet said. They started moving again. “So… You’ll go to bed now. I’ll find something to keep me busy in the library. I’ll wake you up in… four hours?” Deet asked. “Sounds good to me”, Owanl said. “I’ll wake you up as soon as the sky starts to turn red again”. “All right. Good night, Owanl! The first night on Bryyo!” Owanl smiled. “Good night to you too, Deet!”

### Pharandrin’s mind, City of Glass, a few days later

Owanl was again standing on the west side of the roof of her home. The sun was just above the horizon, just like it would every evening from now on. ‘It’s so breathtaking!’ Owanl thought ‘And unlike before, the sun is moving, so the sight is changing all the time! Pretty good, considering it’s just a memory’.

Suddenly, but not unexpectedly, she heard a voice behind her: “You’ve clearly put a lot of effort into this view!” Owanl turned around and smiled. The speaker was, of course, Andest C-Vivr. “Of course I put a lot of effort into this, dad! It’s for you! Come on, sit down next to me!” She turned to face the sun and sat down.

Andest sat down next to her. Owanl leaned on him, and he put his arms on her shoulder and across her back. Both Reptilicuses relaxed and enjoyed the view. “This is what you wanted to see, right?” Owanl asked. “I wanted that you would see it. You deserve it. And since you couldn’t see it before your death, I’ll show this to you after it!” Andest simply smiled and hugged her.

Slowly but surely, the sun went out of sight. The sky darkened and stars appeared. Owanl’s smile widened. “You know… when we first met, you promised to me that there wouldn’t be night in the ‘cursed’ desert”. She turned to look into Andest’s face. “Well… Guess what is happening in the desert right now?”

Andest looked into her eyes. His smile widened, too. “Well… in my defense… that is kind of your own fault, Owanl!” Both started laughing heartily. Once they had calmed down, Owanl stood up and said: “Let’s go to the other side! I want to show you the sunrise too!” Andest stood up, and they walked to the east side of the roof together.

As soon as they had sat down, the sky to the front of them started gaining a red hue. The stars started twinkling away. After a while, the first rays of the sun shone over the horizon. Owanl sighed. “We did it”. Andest sighed too. “Yes, we did”. Owanl lowered on her side, resting her head on Andest’s leg. “This is a good place to be…” Andest petted her head and back. “I like being with you too”.

### The Great Temple, planet Aether, one year after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

U-Mos sat down on his bed. He had done his work for this day, so now was his time to rest. U-Mos had had a special job to do: the Galactic Federation had finally sent a new ship of troopers to Aether. He had spent almost the entire day showing the Temple Grounds – as well as the Great Temple itself – to the troopers. He had also shown them what places were most in need of help.

The troopers had brought a lot of food with them. The Luminoth weren’t quite self-sufficient yet – they still had to complement their efforts to grow food with hunting and gathering in Torvus Bog. That was always risky, but so far they had had only minor injuries. The extra food was very welcome. They had also brought some much-needed medical supplies.

U-Mos sighed. “I hope I’m leading us well”, he said over his shoulder. A-Qar sat up. “Of course you are, you just happen to lead during hard times”. U-Mos smiled faintly. “Thank you. It’s just that… My mother was a great leader, so everyone expected me to be as well”. He clenched his fists. “But I’ve never even met her!”

A-Qar sighed compassionately. “Now that you’ve started, let it all out”. U-Mos obliged and said loudly while lifting his arms: “’U-Mos, son of great V-Mos! What miracles will he perform?!’” He dropped his arms. “I started learning psionics… I wasn’t quite sure what to do, before the Leviathan struck and the Ing arrived. Then I began to train as a warrior”.

U-Mos sighed. “We fought and time passed. The Ing were without number. I killed so many, but it didn’t even seem to slow them down”. He paused. “Then J-Gnk died. He was so wise… And I became the Sentinel of the Luminoth. Not because I was wise like he or my mother, but because I was our greatest warrior”.

“Makes sense, during a war. The Sentinel should be someone who knows how to fight. And I was our best warrior, and still am. But…” He stopped. A-Qar moved next to him. She took his hand. U-Mos looked at her with a flash of happiness in his eyes. It quickly vanished, and he lowered his gaze. “…I was the best, not because I had trained hard, but because everyone better than me had already fallen”.

“U-Mos…” A-Qar started, but U-Mos didn’t hear her: “No matter what I did, we kept losing, until we were all huddled together right here. You went to sleep; I stood watching. I defeated many darklings. It got… hard. There was no-one to talk to. I had never felt so alone…” He sighed again. “And then we won. Almost in an instant. But it wasn’t us, no, it was the bounty hunter. She did in days what we had failed to do in over a centicycle! I wish that I had had her skills when the war started”.

A-Qar squeezed his hand. “Was that it?” U-Mos shook his head. “No. We’re at peace now, but I’m still a warrior. I know how to fight… and that’s it! I could barely lead us in war… how could I hope to lead us during peace? I don’t know much about matters of peace…” A-Qar had never seen U-Mos this lost and sad.

“Do you feel better now?” she asked. He nodded weakly. “U-Mos”, A-Qar said, “I lived through the Leviathan’s terror too. I remember all that. You’ve been our Sentinel in a harsher time than any Sentinel before you… including your mother”. U-Mos responded to her squeeze.

A-Qar continued: “And you defended the Main Energy controller long enough, didn’t you? Enough for help to arrive and save us… do what no Luminoth could have. And despite all horror, death and destruction, we are safe right now. And thanks to your guidance, we’re now in better shape than we’ve been in decacycles, better than we’ve been in much of J-Gnk’s time”.

U-Mos smiled faintly. “Do you think that the others are still accepting of my rule?” A-Mos smiled. “Of course they do! No Sentinel has ever resigned. You were chosen as our Sentinel, so they accept your lead. To many, especially our youngest, you being the Sentinel is normal. And everyone knows that the Sentinels are just Luminoth, not some super-beings!”

U-Mos was now much more relaxed. “Do you think that I chose well with T-Ror? We fought so long to end them, and now that the opportunity was presented to me… I chose not to. I don’t want to… disrespect the fallen…” A-Qar thought about it. “You said that you had looked into his mind and that he was different from the other Ing?” she asked.

“I looked into him. He was… well, he wasn’t filled with that compulsion to hurt and destroy like all other Ing I have met had”. “In that case… I think that you did the right thing… he can’t have had a good life either”. U-Mos sighed. “I’m also worried about other Luminoth–” A-Qar interrupted him: “That fight still bothers you? They were just children being stupid. Adults will accept him over time. We just don’t like the idea of vendettas against people trying to distance themselves from monsters related to them. No good person does”.

He looked at her. He looked happy and tired. It was getting late. A-Qar continued: “I know that you aren’t as good with people as J-Gnk was. So… I’d say that it’s okay if you cheat a bit and use your psionic powers to help you make the right choices”. She chuckled. U-Mos joined her.

A-Qar kept talking: “Now… I recall telling you to sleep more. Have you been following the healer’s orders?” U-Mos winced. “I’ve been busy…” A-Qar cut his excuses short: “Everyone needs to sleep, and you are not an exception! Now that you’ve let your worries flow away from you, you will go to bed at once!”

She moved to her side of the bed quickly. U-Mos’ face turned into a smile. He felt better than he had in a long time. He lay down next to A-Qar. She put her hand on the side of his face and began caressing him. U-Mos put his arm around A-Qar and hugged her. “You’re doing well… Don’t be so hard on yourself…” she whispered. ‘If everyone thinks that I’m leading us well… If everyone puts their faith in me… Then I will not fail them!’ U-Mos thought just before sleep took him over.

This time, he didn’t have nightmares.


	10. Arkithun's blessing

### Background music: [Metroid Prime 2 Theme](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLOkc9MwFHs)  
  
Lair of the final Lord of Science, planet Bryyo, seven years after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

The sky was filled with dark clouds. They made the evening almost as dark as night. Rain was dropping from the clouds, cooling and cleaning the air. The last week had been a hot one, with only a few small clouds drifting through the sky. The rain would rejuvenate both the plants and the animals from the heatwave.

The raindrops were drumming the window of the living room of the lair. A fire was burning in the fireplace, filling the room with the smell of burning Fuel Gel. The combined sound of the rain and the fire brought peace to the living room: this was a perfect day to stay indoors, calm down and take a break from the everyday chores.

The door of the room opened, and Owanl walked in slower than usual. She was tired. Deet followed her, and was equally tired. Owanl dropped into the armchair and closed her eyes. Deet jumped into her lap. Owanl was enjoying the warmth of the fire, while gently petting Deet. Deet, on the other hand, was looking out of the window and listening to the sound of rain. It never rained on Elysia, so rain was still a rather new experience for him.

“They’re finally asleep. All of them”, Deet said. Owanl nodded. “Yes. At last, some time for ourselves”. She sighed. “Aren’t they lovely?” “Yes”, Deet said. They sat silently for a moment. “How are they so full of energy, Owanl? They never seem to tire…” Deet asked. “They’re small and light, like you, so they don’t need that much energy. And besides, there’s ten of them and just two of us”.

Owanl and Deet were talking about the Reptilicus children that the scientists of the Galactic Federation had created from the captured Primals. Five boys, five girls, just as Owanl had asked. She and Deet had decided to take care of ten children for start. After making Bryyo spin again, they had spent most of their time studying Bryyonian childcare.

The Primals themselves had been placed in a forest-covered island on Norion. Owanl had visited the Control of the island a few times. While the damage Phazon had done to the Primals was long gone, the damage the Primals had done to themselves had only increased, to the point that they were no longer even using any weapons. After long consideration, Owanl had asked the Federation to sterilize them (after taking sufficient genetic samples). It had been a tough decision for her.

Owanl turned the television on. They watched mostly channels from Norion. Right now, there was a news broadcast going on. Some famous athlete had just run from the spaceport to the capital in a record time. Neither of the watchers particularly cared, but both were too tired to do something more interesting. Still, there was something pleasurable in just sitting in a comfortable chair by a fire and watching TV while listening to rain.

“Speaking of the children”, Owanl said eventually, “they are soon old enough to begin their education”. Deet powered up from his power saving mode and said: “Really? Have they really grown that much already?” Owanl nodded. “I believe so… The age children used to begin their education has varied a bit, and soon they will reach the lowest of the common ages”.

Deet turned to look into Owanl. “So, how do we go about teaching them? Have you given that any thought?” Owanl collected her thoughts for a moment. “Yes… I will teach them. Alone, for the most part”. “What will I do, then?” Deet asked. “You will raise the next batch of children, of course”. Now was Deet’s turn to think. “Are you sure? We can barely handle the current ones!”

“We’ll hire help. It’s not like we’re short on money”. Owanl hadn’t been too keen on selling Fuel Gel – not while Bryyo’s ecosystem was still fragile. She sold something different: Bryyo’s nature. Hiking, swimming, camping… outdoor activities. Only in the safe areas, of course, few people wanted to get eaten. It wasn’t that big of a business, but Owanl could easily afford the help she was talking about.

“Well, it’s your money… and I think I’ve started to grasp how to handle little children. I’ll manage if I have help”, Deet said. “By the way”, he continued, “how many children are we talking about? Ten again?” Owanl responded: “No, we have to do this faster… I’m thinking 15 boys and 14 girls”. Deet was silent until he noticed something odd: “Wait… 15 boys and 14 girls? But then they can’t make pairs! One boy will be left over!”

Owanl sighed. “Deet… I’m a girl too. One is for me”.

“Oh!” Deet said in surprise. Owanl quickly covered her face and sobbed a few times. Deet was confused. “What’s the matter, Owanl?” he asked. “W-We need as much genetic diversity as we can, Deet… Magic and scrying go in family, too. N-Not having children is not an option for me. A-And with n-numbers like that… I will find a father to them”.

She breathed a few times to calm herself. “And to make this happen… the next children can’t see me as their mother. I must keep my interactions with them minimal until they are adults, or at least nearly so. You will have to be their father, even more than you are a father to the current children”. Owanl took a pause. “And when they’re old enough… tell the boys that – that I’m an option”.

“And… and if I do find one… and we have children… I feel that it might get… difficult… for me to think rationally about them”. She swallowed. “If this happens… help me come to my senses”. “Why would you be unable to think straight? You’ve never had issues like that”, Deet asked reflexively. Owanl sighed. “It’s different when they’re yours” was all she could say.

It took Deet a while to process all that. “Wow… You’ve clearly thought about this for a while. Of course I’ll do as you ask”, he said. Owanl hugged him with her lower arms. “Thank you, Deet. You’re the greatest friend, to me, to the Reptilicus and to all Bryyo”. She took a moment to gather her courage to say the following: “If it was possible, I’d ask you to be the father of my children”.

Deet blinked rapidly and shifted his weight. After a while, he looked into Owanl’s eyes and said: “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me”. He sighed. “And I’d accept, if I just could”. Owanl petted him. “I’m not blaming you. I love you just the way you are”. Deet gripped her leg. “I love you too, Owanl”.

They sat like that for a while. Finally Owanl asked Deet: “Should we start to sleep soon? It’s getting late”. Deet responded: “I’d like to sit like this for a while. And the show on TV is kind of hypnotic, too”. Owanl looked at the screen. “Fine by me. Let’s stay up for a short while, then”. The fire kept the room warm. The rain sounded beautiful.

### The Agon Plains, planet Aether, ten years after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

T-Ror was driving out of the cave near his home when something made his antenna twitch. It must’ve been a raindrop! He looked up. Dark clouds covered the sky, just like the shadows cast by them covered the land. Another drop hit him, right below his eye. T-Ror smiled as he looked forward again. He could already see his home.

‘I like rain’, he thought. It offered some respite from the heat of the Plains. And everything smelt so nice afterwards. T-Ror also felt that the rain purified him as well. The Luminoth had struggled so hard to bring rain back to Agon, to bring life back with it. Anyone who had had limited access to water would like rain. The only downside to it was the one could easily get stuporous without protection, but that’s what homes were for.

The rain intensified. By the time T-Ror reached his home, he was rather wet. The ground around him was eagerly absorbing the water. No puddles had appeared yet, but the ground was much darker already. The air temperature had also dropped a bit. It was still rather warm, but the weak wind combined with being wet made it feel surprisingly cool.

‘Good timing, I’m just about to get indoors’, T-Ror thought as he stopped the vehicle right in front of their garage. He hopped off, opened the garage door and jumped back into his vehicle. He then drove the vehicle inside and turned it off. The tank was almost full, so there was no need to refuel. ‘Day’s work is done!’ T-Ror thought happily.

He walked out of the garage and closed the door. At this point, it was raining heavily. Trickles of water flowed into the fields, and a couple of tiny puddles had appeared in the usual spots. They would surely grow larger very soon. T-Ror had started to get cold, so he jogged to his home and quickly headed in.

“Dad! I’m home!” he shouted as he entered the house. He shook himself to remove at least some of the rainwater on him. K-Ror turned around. “Welcome home, T-Ror!” he said. He then walked to T-Ror and hugged him. T-Ror returned the hug. It was good to be home again. After they separated, K-Ror said: “Dinner is almost ready, so warm and dry yourself before we eat”.

He walked back to the stove. T-Ror moved to a heater and sat down next to it. Warmth began to seep into him. The entire house was warm and dry. They didn’t often need to warm it: all they had to do was to keep the heat of the day inside. T-Ror could still hear the rain drumming the roof and the ground. He could swear that he could even feel it. T-Ror closed his eyes.

He was just about to fall asleep when he heard K-Ror put the kettle on the table. “Dinner’s ready!” K-Ror shouted, but T-Ror was already up. The scent of the food had filled the entire house and it smelt delicious. It made T-Ror notice just how hungry he was. They sat down at the table and started eating.

“So, I take that your trip went well?” K-Ror asked. “Perfect”, T-Ror said after swallowing. “I delivered everything without any issues. Everyone was so satisfied that we could get everything to them so fast!” K-Ror nodded. “And you had no issues with the vehicle either?” “No, it made everything so much easier. Buying it was a great idea!”

Both resumed eating. After a while, it was T-Ror’s turn to ask a question: “Did you hear anything from mom?” K-Ror’s face brightened. “Oh, I did! Sorry, I almost forgot to tell you! She sent us a message shortly after you left. She said that she’ll be back from Torvus in a few days”. T-Ror smiled. “Great! Home feels surprisingly empty without her”.

They continued eating again, but this time, K-Ror noticed something odd. T-Ror was eating very slowly, and he looked very serious, too. “Is something wrong?” he asked T-Ror. T-Ror stopped eating. After thinking a while, he responded: “A trader had landed in the Temple Grounds when I arrived there. I went to meet him. He didn’t have anything that would interest me but…” He stopped.

“But what?” K-Ror inquired. “Did something happen?” T-Ror shook his head. “No. He brought news… Apparently, the people of planet Bryyo are hiring people, to teach and take care of their children”. He looked at K-Ror. “Dad, I want to go to Bryyo. I’d like to try that… teaching and childcare”. T-Ror looked away. “And… and the pay is good. We could get another vehicle, to help with farming”.

Before K-Ror could say anything, T-Ror continued: “There’s not much to do right now… I’m sure you and mom could manage without me”. He stopped. After he was sure that T-Ror wouldn’t say anything more, K-Ror leaned back and said: “I feel that you’re leaving something out… the real reason, I believe. Could you tell it to me?”

T-Ror’s head fell. He looked a bit… ashamed. He sighed and said: “On Aether, there’s everyone… and then there’s me. A – Dark – Luminoth”. He paused. “Just about all Luminoth have accepted me, but… I’m still different”. He lifted his head and looked into K-Ror’s eyes. “But on Bryyo, I’d just be an alien! Just like the troopers and the other people are here!”

“But everyone is taking the aliens really well, if I’ve heard right. Did something happen that made you feel that way?” K-Ror asked. T-Ror looked away again. “Well, the Luminoth didn’t fight the Federation. And the Ing didn’t fight the people of Bryyo”. He sighed. “I’m quite sure that this is all in my head. I thought that if I visit Bryyo, I might not feel like that anymore”.

K-Ror leaned in and smiled. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, you’re free to go”. He then looked serious. “If you were an ordinary child, I’d say that it’d be good for you to try to live away from home for a while, but you have already experience about that. Far more than what is healthy, if one would ask me”. T-Ror had begun to look worried.

“But”, he continued and smiled again, “this time, it’ll be a bit different. First off, you are much older, wiser and more experienced. Secondly, you will be doing an actual job with people, instead of hiding in an animal nest, inside…” saying the next part stung K-Ror a little, “…enemy territory. Having a goal besides staying alive helps a lot. And finally”, he spoke warmly, “If something does go wrong, you now have a home where you’ll always be welcome”.

T-Ror smiled. “Thanks, dad. For everything”. After finishing his meal, he said: “There’s one more reason too”. K-Ror looked at him again. “Oh? What is it?” “I’d really like to visit an alien planet!” K-Ror smiled again. “Aether is not enough for you?” “Well…” T-Ror said slowly, “Aether and Dark Aether have similar overall structure. I had no problem finding my way around here when I first arrived. But Bryyo has nothing in common with Dark Aether! It’s a truly alien world!”

“I’m sure it is”, K-Ror said. “I don’t know much about Bryyo. A Leviathan struck there too, right?” “Right”, T-Ror confirmed. “Bryyo is in the same system as Norion, where Mr. Garner came. Or so the trader claimed”. “Really? What a coincidence… if they were telling the truth”. He stood up. T-Ror followed. It was his turn to clean the dishes.

K-Ror continued: “How long will the job take?” “Hmm…” T-Ror said while cleaning a plate, “The trader said that I could choose. I was thinking that I’d work for about a cycle. How does that sound?” “Sounds fine to me, I’m sure you’ll miss home after that”. T-Ror laughed. “I’m sure I will! I haven’t even left and I’m already tense!”

He started cleaning another plate. He then said slowly: “One whole cycle… You and mom will have this home all for yourselves…” K-Ror grinned. “What are you suggesting?” he asked. “Are you… planning to get me a… sibling?” T-Ror asked carefully. K-Ror’s grin turned into a smile. “Almost certainly. Everyone needs to do their part, after all”.

‘Done!’ T-Ror thought. The dishes were still wet, but they’d dry up all by themselves soon enough. K-Ror wanted to ask one last question: “When will you be leaving, then? Did the trader say any time?” “A couple of days, another ship should arrive to take me”. “In that case”, K-Ror said, “you should start packing tomorrow. I’ll help you get everything you’ll need in space”.

### Temple Grounds, planet Aether, a few days later

T-Ror was standing in Aether’s spaceport. He was nervous. Excluding any interdimensional trips, he had never left Aether before. ‘I’m about to go farther from home than I ever have!’ he thought. That really didn’t help him to calm down. He decided to check his bag yet another time. Did he have everything he’d need?

All the items needed for personal hygiene. There was no telling how aliens cleaned themselves, so it was possible that T-Ror couldn’t use anything they used. One cycle was far too long to go without any sort of cleaning. All he’d need was water, and if there was no water, he’d die of thirst long before he’d get dirty.

Some homemade snacks, enough to last him the trip to Bryyo and back. K-Ror had told him that some aliens ate the poisonous leaves of Blueroot trees. If everything they ate was poisonous to him, T-Ror obviously couldn’t stay. In the case he could eat their food, the snacks would be cure for homesickness. 

His flute. He had recently started playing on his own. He didn’t have much time to do that on the farm, but maybe he’d have more free time on Bryyo. The flute would provide him at least some way of entertaining himself.

His crystal. Sometimes T-Ror needed to stretch the legs of his own body. He also wanted to see Bryyo with his own eye, and to walk on it with his own legs. It could also be useful in emergencies…

The sound of a spaceship approaching interrupted T-Ror’s thoughts. It was about to land right in front of him. ‘That has to be my ship!’ he thought. T-Ror closed his bag, picked it up and jogged away from the ship’s way. He was certain that he was already out of its way, but better safe than sorry.

The ship landed with a surprisingly silent sound for its size. Its ramp lowered, and all kinds of creatures walked out. Some were carrying or pulling cargo: they were either planning to sell those or simply delivering something that had already been paid for. Others would stay: one person in particular looked like a scientist, at least judging from the expensive-looking gizmos he was pulling.

The bigger fellows were most likely plumbers or electricians; the Hydrodynamo Station in Torvus Forest was still a mess. A Luminoth greeted them, and swiftly guided them away. If there were any tourists, T-Ror didn’t notice them. After a couple of minutes, the ramp was clear, with only two guards staying.

‘Time to go in’, T-Ror thought. He walked to the guard standing next to the ramp. “Umm… Hi?” he said to the guard. The guard turned to look him. “Yes?” he asked. If he was surprised by how T-Ror looked, he didn’t show it. “My name is T-Ror. This is the ship that is supposed to take me to Bryyo, isn’t it?” “Mmm…” the guard replied. He pulled out a small device and started poking it.

After a while, he smiled and nodded. “Yes, your name is on the list. Your trip is already paid for”. T-Ror had asked about that from the first trader. The people of Bryyo would pay all of his travel expenses as a part of his payment. It made everything much simpler for him.

“Is this your first time on a commercial spaceship?” the guard asked. “Yes”, T-Ror said. The guard nodded and turned to shout the other guard: “Hey Matt, can you hold the fort until I come back?!” Matt chuckled and gave him a thumbs-up.

“All right then, follow me”, the guard said to T-Ror. They walked into the ship’s cargo hold. It was mostly empty this time, as most of the cargo was now being delivered, but next to one wall were a bunch of containers with doors in their sides. The guard walked to one of them, and T-Ror followed him.

“This is your room”, the guard said as he pointed at the door. “Here is your key. Be sure to give it back when you leave the ship!” He handed a card to T-Ror. It was a simple electronic card that could be connected to any single lock of the containers. Now it was connected to the door right in front of them.

“In addition to the room”, the guard continued, “you are also entitled to three warm meals each day – excluding this one, as two of them have already been served. Breakfast is served half an hour after the ship’s waking up call, the lunch is served midday and dinner an hour after working hours end. You are also entitled to an evening snack, which is served one hour before silence. All meals are served in the cafeteria”.

“Should you want any more snacks, you can buy them from the cafeteria or one of the vending machines. Some traders traveling with us are also selling snacks and other trinkets. You may also use the recreational rooms of the ship, but remember to reserve what you are going to use in advance. We will not tolerate any fighting over there”.

“The closest restrooms can be found by going through the door over here and turning left. Your room has a map of the ship, if you are wondering where everything else is. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask around”. “Thanks for everything!” T-Ror said. ‘I hope that I can remember everything’, he thought.

The guard turned to leave, but he quickly turned back and said: “Oh, I almost forgot! Either stay in your room or stay out of the cargo hold altogether until we’ve left! The hold will always be very crowded when everyone’s trying to find a place for their wares. The last thing we need is more people wandering around. Also, sometimes poorly secured boxes may fall down during the liftoff”.

“Okay, I’ll stay in my room”, T-Ror said. The guard jogged back outside. T-Ror put the keycard into its slot and the door opened. He walked into his room. The room was very minimalistic: just a small bed with a small night table, one chair, one light in the ceiling and a speaker right above the doorway. There was also a map of the spaceship on the table.

‘Well, it’s not like I need much more. I just wish there was more space’, he thought. T-Ror closed the door, put his belongings on the floor and dropped into his bed. He picked up the map from the table and began to inspect it to pass time. The room was very silent: the only thing T-Ror could hear was faint humming of the ship’s electronics somewhere.

After a while, he began to hear all kinds of sounds from the cargo hold. His fellow travelers were returning. The speaker announced that the ship would be leaving soon. It also asked people to secure their items in place. T-Ror pushed his bag into a corner. It didn’t have anything that fragile, and surely the spaceship wouldn’t rock itself too much.

Soon he felt the ship lift off. The feeling was soon gone as the inertia dampeners started compensating the acceleration. The speaker spoke again, informing everyone that they could now move freely. T-Ror wanted to see space, so he headed towards the cafeteria, where the map said that one could find windows.

The ship was built to accommodate many species, so everything inside looked a bit too big for the most of the people on the ship. Unfortunately, the Luminoth were much taller than the galactic average, so ceilings of the corridors were too low for T-Ror to walk in straight. He had to stay slightly crouched the whole time.

The ceiling of the cafeteria was thankfully slightly higher, but it was still so low that T-Ror’s antennae were scraping it while he walked. That would make them sore quickly, so he had to consciously keep them down while he walked to the window. He knelt by the window to take a closer look. They had yet to leave the atmosphere, so everything was still blue, although somewhat brighter than usual.

The view from the window kept brightening, until the ship started leaving the Light of Aether. Then the view began to darken until all T-Ror could see was uncountable stars floating in utter darkness. ‘Wow! Space is so… beautiful’, he thought. This was the first time he had seen stars outside of pictures. Darkness and light, in perfect harmony. He stayed in front of the window for quite some time.

The cafeteria had begun to get noisy. T-Ror stood up and turned around. The room was now filled with people lining up for food. T-Ror wanted to join them, bet he wasn’t sure if he could eat the food. Instead, he walked up to one of the staff members of the cafeteria and asked them about it. The staff member assured him that Luminoth physiology was so close to everyone else’s that he could safely eat everything there.

T-Ror joined the line and grabbed himself a meal. It took a bit of an effort, as all the food containers were so low. The cashier asked him to either pay or to show his keycard. T-Ror showed the card. Now all he had to do was to find a place to sit. The cafeteria was crowded, and T-Ror spotted only one free place.

He also saw a Luminoth sitting further away. She was R-Kul, if he saw correctly. She was sitting on the floor, as the table was too low for her. T-Ror moved to the free place and sat down on the floor as well. The meal was rather tasteless. Understandably, the food in spaceships was the kind of food that would stay edible for ages and took little space. Interstellar void had little fresh ingredients.

After finishing his meal, T-Ror headed to the recreational area. He was a bit too tired from the excitement of the day to do anything active, so he just sat on the floor next to one of the couches and watched television. Although others had reserved it for the rest of the evening, nothing prevented T-Ror from joining them and watching what they watched.

Finally the speaker announced that the silence would soon start. Most people started leaving the room. T-Ror left as well. He cleaned himself and went to bed. It didn’t take him long to fall asleep.

### Planet Bryyo, a few days later

T-Ror quickly ate his dinner and then rushed back to his room. The ship would land soon, and he’d better be ready by then! He threw all of the few items he had taken from the bag back in. He then jumped into the bed and waited the ship to land. ‘Today I’ll finally step on an alien planet!’ he thought.

After some time, the ship landed, and the impact echoed through the ship. The speaker announced that the ship had landed and that people were now ready to move. T-Ror picked up his bag and exited his room. Now the cargo hold was almost empty. The ship would most likely fill it up on Norion. T-Ror headed to the ramp.

He saw R-Kul exit her room as well. She was carrying her own bag. “Hi!” she said to him as they neared the ramp. “Hi…” T-Ror said back, but a guard interrupted him before he could continue. He took their keys and wished them good day. T-Ror and R-Kul walked off the ramp to their new home. They were the only people to leave the ship on Bryyo.

A party of dozen was awaiting them at the landing pad. Ten of them were most likely children, as they were standing a bit further behind. The one on the left (T-Ror’s left) was the prophetess, looking exactly like the children but bigger. Despite being shorter than T-Ror and R-Kul, she was most likely a bit larger, thanks to her being much stockier and having an extra pair of arms and a tail.

The last person on the landing pad was a bit of a surprise to T-Ror: he (T-Ror assumed) was a small machine, not unlike the splinters back on Aether, although he had six legs. ‘I wonder if having six limbs is normal for the creatures of Bryyo’, T-Ror thought. It would be hard to get used to that if he ever had to possess one. Hopefully that day would never come.

“Welcome to Bryyo! I am your employer, prophetess Owanl B-Shar”, the prophetess introduced herself with a tired voice. She pointed at the robot and continued: “This is DT-53 of SkyTown, planet Elysia. He is a scholar and our second-in-command”. “You can call me Deet, if you want”, the Elysian in question added. ‘How did an Elysian machine become the number two on Bryyo?’ T-Ror wondered, but he felt that it’d be impolite to ask about it.

“And these”, the prophetess said while waving one of her hands towards the children, “are the first generation of Reptilicus since Bryyo was healed”. She blinked a few times. She had to be tired. “My name is T-Ror”, T-Ror said. “And I’m R-Kul”, R-Kul said. “We’re from the rogue planet Aether”, T-Ror quickly finished. ‘Hopefully R-Kul doesn’t say anything about Dark Aether…’

“Say hi to T-Ror and R-Kul, children!” the prophetess said. “Hi, T-Ror and R-Kul”, the children said in disunion. It was difficult to make out the words. The prophetess then said: “Now that we’ve all met, why don’t you children go and play?” She back looked to the Luminoth and said: “I’ll show you where everything is, and then – yes, Kilnnh? Did you want to say something?”

One of the children was pulling her lower arm. “What’s a rogue planet?” the boy asked. “It means that their planet doesn’t move around a star, like ours does”, the prophetess replied. The children looked confused. “If you have any other questions, I’m sure they can wait until I’ve talked with our guests”, she continued.

Deet spoke next: “All right, children! Follow me! Let mom do her job!” He started walking away, and the herd of children followed. “I’m not their biological mother, of course”, the prophetess said. “But I’ve raised them like I was… I hope”. She looked a bit melancholic. She quickly cheered up. “All right, let’s get started! Follow me, please!”

All three began walking towards the entrance. The building was huge, bigger than either of the Temples, but not as large as the Sanctuary or the Hive. The prophetess continued: “So, I’d have two jobs for you: one of you should help me teach those children you just saw, while the other should help Deet look after the toddlers. Does either of you have any preferences?”

“What would we be teaching?” T-Ror asked. “Things that are the same to all species, such as mathematics and physics”, the prophetess said. “Either work is fine by me”, R-Kul said. T-Ror said: “Hmm… I can count well enough, but I doubt that I can take care of children that young”. The prophetess smiled. “Well, that settles it, doesn’t it? T-Ror will help me and R-Kul will help Deet”.

They entered the building and continued walking along its halls. Deet and the children disappeared in one intersection. T-Ror and R-Kul were both given their own rooms. The rooms were rather small, but at least the beds were large enough and the ceiling high enough. The Reptilicus were taller than the galactic average, and so were their buildings and furniture. Not quite Luminoth-sized, though.

T-Ror and R-Kul dropped their belongings in their rooms and continued to follow the prophetess. First, they visited the greenhouse. T-Ror felt at home there: after all, it was an in-door farm. The plants there were alien, of course, but they seemed edible and growing well. ‘First time I can leave growing plants to someone else… well, if they ask for my help, I will offer it’, T-Ror thought.

Next they walked into a big storage room. It was filled to the brim with all kinds of items. “If you ever need to fetch something, it’s most likely here”, the prophetess said. This was followed by a room that was equal parts of kitchen, dining room and living room. “This is where we make and eat our meals. You can also relax here, if you don’t want to sit alone in your own rooms”.

The room they visited next was the library. “The library can be used both for fun and for work”, the prophetess said. “And speaking of work…” she continued as she walked to a table and picked up a book on it, “…this book contains your teaching material, T-Ror! Be sure to read at least its start before your first lesson tomorrow”, she continued as she handed the book to T-Ror.

T-Ror took the book and started to examine it. At least it was small and light. He opened it up. “We’ll keep moving, T-Ror! You have plenty of time to read it later”, the prophetess said. T-Ror looked up and followed the others out of the library. Once they were back in the hallway, he looked back at the book. ‘Great! The beginning is just numbers, not even simple calculations!’ he thought.

Their next stop was a classroom. A big chair and table at one end, and ten smaller pairs looking at the big table in the center. Each small table had a small piece of paper attached to them. “This mainly concerns you, T-Ror. You’ll be teaching the children here. Each table has the name of the child sitting there, so you’ll quickly learn them”.

“What if someone starts disrupting the lessons?” T-Ror asked. “Just threaten it give them extra homework. If they keep at it, do it”. She paused. “If they keep causing trouble, tell me. You are the first alien teacher they have. I’ve told them that you have authority over them, but they might not agree with it, especially in the beginning. I hope they won’t give you any trouble”.

Next up was the washroom. Nothing too fancy or unusual there. The room after that was noisy. “This is the playroom. The older children spend most of their time here. Often I’m watching over them. That is a part of your duties as well, T-Ror”, the prophetess said. She opened the door. Behind the door, the children were playing.

“Owanl! Are you finished with their tour?” Deet shouted over the noise. “Almost! I still need to show the room where the toddlers are!” she shouted back. “You should probably hurry! The others are most likely getting overwhelmed by now!” Deet shouted again. “It won’t take much longer!” the prophetess said as she and the Luminoth left the room.

“There’s a reason I specifically reached further than this solar system when I searched for help”, the prophetess said as they walked towards another, even noisier door. “We’re now a part of the Galactic Federation, and we will often need to deal with all kinds of aliens in the future. It’ll be good if the children are used to you by then. It took me quite some time before I really got used to sentients other than the Reptilicus”.

They had finally reached the last point of the tour: the toddler’s playroom. The noise coming through the door was loud, and opening the door made it even louder. Inside was a large room filled with tiny Reptilicus crawling, sitting and crying. There were also two aliens who tried and failed to keep the mess together. Someone had already painted them with many new colors.

“Yes, as you can see and hear, the toddlers spend their time here. This is where you will work, R-Kul! Have fun!” R-Kul looked shocked. She was staring at the paint stains on the other workers. She clutched her beautiful, blonde and clean chest fur. “Y-Yeah… Thank you, prophetess…” she said as the prophetess and T-Ror left the room.

The remaining two returned to the playroom of the older children. Deet flew out as soon as they entered to help with the younger children. “So, how do I exactly help here?” T-Ror asked. The prophetess answered silently: “These children don’t need babysitting anymore. So, let’s ask them, shall we?”

“Hey children!” The room went mostly silent as the majority focused on the prophetess. “T-Ror here said that he will be spending time with us! Would you like mom and him to join you?” The room was filled with cheers. The prophetess walked further in and sat down. T-Ror sat down as well, but slightly closer to the door. He had attracted quite a bit of attention.

‘I’m the alien here!’ he thought. ‘Must be first time they see a Luminoth this close… or a Dark Luminoth, for the matter’. T-Ror wouldn’t tell anyone what that really meant, especially the children. He offered his hand to the closest child. The child shook his hand and looked very satisfied. ‘Off to a good start!’ T-Ror thought.

After a long time, the day was finally over. Everyone moved to the dining room. The prophetess had left earlier to prepare a light snack for everyone. After the meal, it was time to clean up, calm down and go to bed. The lights were turned off and silence fell to the building. T-Ror didn’t go to his bed quite yet, however. He knelt down in front of the window and stared out.

Darkness covered the land, a darkness so deep that T-Ror couldn’t make out any details on the ground. ‘So this is a night, a true night’, he thought. ‘It’s different from Dark Aether…’ He looked up and saw millions of starts twinkling in the sky. ‘To think that one can see stars from the surface of a planet! It’s just like looking out of a spaceship’s window! So beautiful!’ he thought. ‘I think that I will enjoy having nights…’

### Lair of the final Lord of Science, planet Bryyo

The first days of T-Ror’s time on Bryyo went well, with nothing that special happening. The children behaved much better in class than he had feared; at most he had to occasionally tell them to stay quiet while he was speaking. The same continued in the evenings. The worst he had to do was to break down a starting fight, and even that had only happened thrice.

The lessons themselves were simple as well. The children had just started to learn to write, and he was responsible of teaching them numbers. They did only the simplest of calculations. Most of the time, they just counted things. Somewhat boring for him, but at least he made no miscalculations himself. He enjoyed seeing the children’s joy of learning to do something new, too.

After a bit over a week, during the evening, T-Ror was sitting in his room and reading the book the prophetess had given to him. He always wanted to have an idea what to say before the lessons. The next lesson had bit more interesting subject – the number “0”. Tomorrow he would have to explain the children how “nothing” would affect things.

Someone knocked his door. T-Ror jumped a bit when he heard the knock. ‘Who wants to see me at this time? What’s so important that it can’t wait until morning?’ he thought. He turned around on the chair and shouted: “Come in!” ‘And why would something important concern me? Have I done something wrong?’

The door opened and R-Kul stepped in. “Um… Hi?” she said nervously and smiled. “Hi…” T-Ror said slowly. ‘Why is she here? We haven’t spoken at all after we left Aether… actually, not much on Aether, either’. He really didn’t know much about R-Kul. “What brings you here? Did something happen?” he asked.

“No… nothing’s happened… I just…” she swallowed, “wanted to talk… with you”. Her wings jerked a bit. “What did you want to talk about? Have a seat, by the way”, T-Ror said and gestured towards the bed. R-Kul slowly walked to the bed and quickly sat down. She was so fast that she almost fell on her back, and had to spend a moment to regain her balance.

R-Kul then said: “When the trader came, and told you about the job here… I heard that, too. And you… you jumped at the offer!” She looked away. “After the war, Aether was in a bad shape… It’s understandable that we would be a bit selfish… sort out our own problems before worrying about others… But Bryyo was even worse”. She looked directly into T-Ror’s eyes.

“We owe Bryyo nothing. We barely even know them! And still… you wanted to help people you’ve never even met. Despite Aether having its own problems”. She looked down and closed her eyes. “I admit that you might have other reasons, too… the pay is really good… but still…” She breathed in deeply and looked at T-Ror again.

“…you were the only one that took the offer. No-one else came here. It was… rather inspiring…” R-Kul paused and looked away. “I… I felt a bit… guilty. We’re not that bad off, not anymore”. She inhaled sharply and her gaze snapped back to T-Ror again. “So! I wanted to come here too! To help these people… with you”.

The room was silent for a while. T-Ror felt confused. “So… why exactly are you telling me this?” he asked. R-Kul looked away. “I don’t really know you… but I’d like to. Know you better”. She was breathing surprisingly quickly. T-Ror relaxed. “All right. I’ll answer any questions you might have. I can read this book later”.

R-Kul made a frustrated noise. T-Ror was surprised. “What? Did I somehow insult you?” he asked. “You didn’t… understand!” R-Kul said. She stood up and walked to T-Ror. She grabbed his hands. “I mean”, she said as she pulled T-Ror up, “I want us to get knowing each other…” They stood very close to each other. “…like this”, she finished.

Now T-Ror understood… or at least he thought so. He had to be sure. “Y-You mean like… like dad and mom know each other?” he asked. “Yes!” R-Kul said. She sounded relieved. “Precisely like that!” T-Ror’s heart was racing. This was completely unexpected. Good that he was prepared for this situation. He didn’t want anything bad to happen.

“A-All right, t-then”, he said. He pulled his hands out of R-Kul’s. “But—but first… I need to do… one thing”. R-Kul looked surprised. “Oh! Okay… What are you going to do, then?” “You’ll see… Stay where you are”, T-Ror said. ‘Dad said that trust is important… for both of us’. He walked to his bag and began digging. He quickly found what he was looking for: his crystal.

“Try to stay calm. Nothing bad will happen”, T-Ror said. R-Kul started to look nervous. T-Ror turned his crystal on. The dark bubble covered almost the entire room. T-Ror climbed on his bed and lay down. A dark smoke exited his body. The smoke spun in the air and dropped to the floor and formed a puddle. And from the puddle, a young, proud Warrior Ing climbed out. R-Kul gasped and backed to the wall.

“This is my true from”, it said. “This is me”.

A Warrior Ing

T-Ror sat down. “Is this going to be a problem?” he asked cautiously. R-Kul was silent. “Your eyes… eye, I mean…” she said, “Looks the same, no matter what you look like”. She swallowed and stepped forward. “That’s how I know it’s you”. She walked to T-Ror, sat down next to him and wrapped her arm around one of T-Ror’s legs.

Both of them closed their eyes. They sat like this for quite some time. ‘She feels pleasantly warm’, T-Ror thought. ‘He is so cool and calming’ were R-Kul’s thoughts. Finally T-Ror stood up again. R-Kul stood up as well and stepped back. T-Ror dropped into a puddle, evaporated into the air and absorbed back into T-Fme’s body.

He rose up, picked up the crystal and turned it off. He then put the crystal back to his bag and sat down on the bed. “I’m very rarely in that form. Outside of combat, it’s rather… restricted”. He looked at R-Kul. His eyes seemed to glow even brighter. “But you can’t confuse me with T-Fme. We’re completely different people. We haven’t even met, if you can believe that!”

“Thank you for reminding me about that, T-Ror”, R-Kul said. She sat down next to T-Ror. “I’ll try to keep you and T-Fme separate”. She put her hand on T-Ror’s. “But it wasn’t T-Fme who chose to come here”. T-Ror smiled. R-Kul then asked: “How often do you get out?” “Maybe once a cycle, for a few minutes. Sometimes I feel a need to… stretch, I think? ”

He breathed in. “I think I might prefer this form… I like having hands… they’re useful in a civilized society”. He turned his hand and squeezed R-Kul’s hand. R-Kul turned and placed her other hand behind T-Ro’s head. “But it’s not just… hands, that you get when you go into T-Fme”, she said silently. She started pressing T-Ror’s head gently.

“What body part… are you talking about?” T-Ror asked. Somehow he couldn’t think as well as he usually could. His mind felt numb. “Do you really need to ask… when we’re like this?” R-Kul asked back. They were now so close that T-Ror could swear that he could see the glow of his eyes reflect from R-Kul’s face.

Then their antennae touched.

T-Ror had never felt anything so soft and exciting. Then R-Kul started moving her antennae, slowly grinding up and down T-Ror’s. T-Ror followed her lead, so that the points where they touched drew small circles in the air. Their eyes almost closed. Apart from their antennae and breathing, both T-Ror and R-Kul were completely still.

T-Ror was thoroughly enjoying the experience, and judging from her face and body language, R-Kul was as well. He wanted to keep going, but he knew that he was getting very close to his limit. He had to make sure that R-Kul knew that as well. “Is this… going to lead to you… laying an egg?” he asked with a surprisingly labored voice. “Not right now, I've taken care of that. But maybe later…” R-Kul said. She sounded… inviting?

At any rate, it was exactly what T-Ror had to avoid. But now he had an odd feeling: he had trouble controlling T-Fme’s body. Of course, he was used to battling for the control of a host, but this time, he was fighting nobody. T-Fme was exactly as silent as he had always been. But after a short struggle, he succeeded in gently pushing himself and R-Kul apart. “Sorry. I can’t do that”.

R-Kul looked confused and hurt. “Why? Did I do something wrong? Am I too fast? Or don’t you like…?” She looked down. T-Ror was a bit frustrated. She hadn’t understood, even after the earlier. “It’s because this is not my body; it’s T-Fme’s. About one and a half dozen cycles ago, dad explained to me that, because I’m just borrowing it, I can’t do what you want”.

R-Kul had looked back at him when he had mentioned T-Fme. Once he had finished, her eyes widened and she gasped silently. She looked absolutely shocked. “T-Ror, I—I had never considered—and you even showed me—I still didn’t—I’m so sorry—I don’t want to pressure you—!” she blabbered. T-Ror placed his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. I’m well aware that most people never have to worry about this kind of problems”.

He gently pulled her closer and hugged her. She hugged him back. They sat like that for a short while. At first, R-Kul was breathing rapidly, almost crying, but their embrace quickly calmed her down until she was breathing normally. “All right, I’m good now. Thank you, T-Ror”, she said. They moved apart.

“Well… if we can’t do anything like that… we’ll just have to do something else, right?” she asked with a smile. “Yeah, good idea”, T-Ror said. “Do you… have something specific on your mind?” “Yes!” R-Kul replied enthusiastically. “First, lay on your back…” T-Ror told as she asked. She then climbed right beside him.

They lay like that for a moment. “What happens next?” T-Ror asked. R-Kul put her arm across his chest. “We just stay like this”. T-Ror started to absently pet her wing. She sighed. T-Ror asked: “Oh… Should I say something?” “We can talk, but we don’t need to”. T-Ror decided that he didn’t need to say anything. ‘This is actually… pretty good…’ he thought.

### Lair of the final Lord of Science, planet Bryyo, two weeks later

“To recap: Arkithun built the City of Glass in the sun, where our gods live to this day. After finishing his work, The Lord Artisan gave us the gift of architecture, so that we might build a civilization for ourselves”, Owanl said. “For the next lesson, read the chapter about Arkithun. After that, we will talk about the Instiller of Venom, Korphyygis. Class dismissed!” she concluded the lesson. 

The children started picking up their notebooks and pens. Next they would read their textbooks and answer a few simple questions. They could choose whether they would work alone or in groups, as this time they weren’t practicing either. Both skills would be valuable in the future. Each child was skilled in different things; this was just one thing to keep in mind when considering what they would do when they grew up.

After the classroom was empty, Owanl allowed herself to yawn and stretch. Finally she had a short moment of free time. She was starting to get hungry… a light snack and some well-earned slouching in the armchair would be perfect. Unfortunately for her, her dreams of eating and resting were interrupted.

The interrupter was T-Ror. His head had appeared in the doorway. “Prophetess. I need to talk with you in private. Is this a good time?” he asked. Owanl sighed. “Yes, I’m not doing anything important. Please, come in”. She hoped that whatever T-Ror had talked about wouldn’t take too long. To be fair, this was the first time he had asked for anything not about basic needs.

T-Ror walked in and stopped some distance away from Owanl’s desk. He stood silently at attention, thinking what he was about to say. Finally, he said: “I require your help on a personal matter”. He sounded nervous. “Or not me really… I’m asking for a… friend”. It was hard to notice, but T-Ror was really tense.

Owanl smiled warmly. She had already a good idea who this “friend” was, and what kind of help T-Ror was talking about. After all, it wasn’t like she was blind or deaf. Anyone who paid attention would have noticed that he and R-Kul had taken their breaks together as often as they could, and on most breaks they would disappear together to one of their rooms.

“Well, ask away and I’ll help if I can”, Owanl said. T-Ror asked carefully: “Can you… keep a secret?” “Your secret is safe with me”, she reassured him. “You have no reason to be so anxious. I’m sure the others won’t react as badly as you fear”. “I’m not afraid of what others will do… not much, at least”, T-Ror said. “It’s just that… if you can help my friend, I will suffer”.

Owanl’s mouth opened in surprise. ‘Wait, it isn’t what I thought it was. He really is asking for a friend!’ she thought. She said out loud: “Well, I can’t help you unless you tell me more”. T-Ror nodded. “Right… But before I explain the situation to you… just… don’t be afraid… and… don’t attack. Nothing bad is about to happen”.

‘Something feels off… I’ll keep that in mind, but stay on guard just in case’. “I won’t attack you”. T-Ror raised his hands, and now Owanl noticed that he was carrying a crystal. He did something, and the crystal changed its color. A shadowy bubble expanded from it, partially covering Owanl’s desk. T-Ror sat down, put the crystal on the floor and lay down beside it.

He then started… fuming? Dark smog seeped out of him. As it did, he brightened, until he looked just like R-Kul. Owanl stood up and backed off. She wasn’t scared, but she was cautious. She was prepared to cast a spell. Meanwhile, the smog was circling in the air above the Luminoth. Owanl could see small embers inside the smog.

The smog then spun towards the floor. Upon hitting the floor, it formed a thick, dark puddle. Owanl thought that it looked poisonous. The puddle stayed on the floor only for a moment. Then a big, dark creature climbed out of it. “I am T-Ror”, the creature said. It then pointed at the comatose Luminoth on the floor. “He is T-Fme”.

The creature then sat down. “About 27 cycles ago – that’s roughly ten years, right? – T-Fme fell from a height. He hasn’t woken up since. Our healers couldn’t help him”. He looked directly at Owanl with his big, glowing eye. “But you can do MAGIC, right? Unlike the Luminoth. So, I was thinking that maybe you could heal him?”

“Hold on!” Owanl said. That was far too much information far too quickly! “So, you are telling me, that – you – are T-Ror?! And that Luminoth on the floor is someone completely different?” “Right. I’m not a Luminoth; I am an Ing. For nearly 30 cycles, I’ve been possessing T-Fme. It was the best arrangement for the both of us”.

“So you are the one we’ve interacted with?” Owanl asked. “Yes”. He sounded slightly frustrated “T-Fme has been like that all this time. I’m the one doing all the moving and speaking”. Owanl relaxed. She sat down again. “All right then. I wanted to get the children used to all kinds of aliens, so this is not a problem. I just don’t see why you claimed to be a Luminoth”.

T-Ror looked down. “The Ing and the Luminoth were at a war. Nearly all Luminoth died, and Dark Aether – my planet of birth – was destroyed, taking all other Ing with it”. He looked back to Owanl. He tried to sound cheerful. “Anyway, while I’m a Dark Luminoth, I have the same needs as a normal one, so any more explanations would just make everything unnecessarily complex, right?”

“Well, this is rather complicated to me…” Owanl said slowly. She pointed at the bubble. “What does this bubble do?” T-Ror said: “I’m from another dimension”. He looked up. “This dimension… your dimension… is lethal to me”. He looked back at Owanl. “As long as I’m possessing someone, I’m safe. This bubble pushes away your dimension’s influence, allowing me to stay in my own body. The bubble is not dangerous to you”.

Owanl snapped back. “Wait! You are saying that if you can’t possess anyone, you have to stay inside the bubble or you will die?!” “Yes”, T-Ror said calmly. Owanl continued: “Then why are asking me to take your host away from you?!” T-Ror looked down. “I was allowed to possess T-Fme so that I would keep his body alive until someone could heal him. I promised I’d take good care of him. He’s given me so much, and I’ve never even met him!”

He looked lost and anxious. “So…” he continued slowly, “can you heal him?” Owanl sighed and lowered her head. “No”, was her response. “Oh”, T-Ror said, sounding conflicted. “It’s… okay… to me. I understand that there must be all kinds of rules governing the use of magic –” Owanl shook her head. “No. It’s not that something prevents me; I simply refuse even to try”.

“W-What?!” T-Ror shouted. He jumped back to his feet. “It’s not for me! It’s for T-Fme!” Owanl nodded. “Yes, that is precisely why”. T-Ror looked astonished. Owanl continued: “Your efforts to find a cure for T-Fme’s condition – especially considering what it’d do to you – are admirable. However”, she started smiling gently, “I will not damn you into a life like that”.

“Y-You… won’t help him… for me?” T-Ror said. “Right. You’ve helped us a lot already, and I’m sure you’ll help us more in the future. I won’t harm you, especially after that… even if you are asking for it”. “But I promised –!” T-Ror started, but then he collapsed on the ground. Owanl thought it looked far more hilarious than it should have.

T-Ror sighed. “Sorry. I’m not used to… receiving kindness. From people other than dad… and maybe mom”. That answer stung Owanl a bit. She said: “Well, you’ve been good to us. I try to treat others fairly. But while I won’t try to heal T-Fme right now, that doesn’t mean that I won’t try to help you and him. I’ll talk with Deet. He should know something we can use”.

“Really?! Thank you, prophetess!” T-Ror said while he jumped back up. He then dropped into a puddle again and returned to T-Fme. That process still creeped Owanl a bit. The Dark Luminoth then deactivated the crystal and stood up. He looked at Owanl with his glowing eyes. “This means so much to me!”

Owanl stood up as well. “You’re welcome! One of us will contact you after we’ve talked and Deet has had time to go through his data”. She stretched and walked towards the door. “I’m hungry, so I’ll go grab a snack. Why don’t you join me?” T-Ror’s mandibles twitched in surprise. “Sure… I could eat something, too”.

### Lair of the final Lord of Science, planet Bryyo, one week later

“T-Ror! Do you have a moment?” T-Ror turned around. Deet was floating in the air a short distance away. “Yes!” T-Ror responded. “Then follow me! We’re going outside!” Deet said before turning around and floating away. T-Ror followed him. “Is this about my… request I told the prophetess about?!” he asked. “It is”, Deet said.

They arrived outside. It was a hot day, so they stayed in the shadow of the building. Deet landed near some kind of capsule. He turned around to face T-Ror. He said: “So, Owanl told me about your issues. Rather interesting. I wasted no time to contact SkyTown to gather all possible data on the Ing and the Luminoth, as well as their homeworlds”.

T-Ror still wasn’t sure how to feel about strangers spending so much effort to help him. “Thanks… What’s that thing over there?” He pointed at the capsule. Deet glanced at it. “We’ll get to that in a bit… Now, let’s talk about the data I received”. He sounded excited. “It sounds difficult to believe all of it, but I’d say the same thing about Phazon if I hadn’t experienced it myself”.

“Uh… okay”, T-Ror said, “what do you want to talk about?” “I need to confirm some specifics”, Deet said. “First, the Ing can take over other creatures, which is what you are doing currently. How about possessing machines?” “We can do that. We took over most of the war machines the Luminoth built”. “Could you possess me?” The question stung T-Ror a bit, but there was no point denying it: “Yes”.

“Is there a limit on how simple the machine can be? Could you take over, say, a rock?” This was a much harder question. “I’m… not quite sure. I think there is. But I should point out that even if I could enter a rock, all I could do while inside would be to just sit still, like rocks do”. He started to get worried. “Are you suggesting a mechanical body to me? I still need to eat, even if my host body doesn’t!”

“What? Nothing like that, I simply had to confirm… What about modular technology?” Deet was barely containing his excitement. “What do you mean by that? First time I’ve heard about it”, T-Ror said. “Modular technology was something invented by my creators, the Chozo, as a way of streamlining the production of complicated equipment”.

“The basic idea is that you first have a base. If needed, one may add additional features to it. Features that might be too complex or expensive to give to every base unit. Take their Power Suits, for example: in most cases, the simple Power Suit gives enough protection to a Chozo Warrior. But if they would need to enter superheated areas, they could add the Varia feature, which would protect the suit and the user from the heat. Likewise, the Gravity feature would help movement in abnormal gravity, such as underwater. The Chozo developed many such features”.

It took T-Ror some time to digest all that. “Sound really neat, but what does it have to do with this situation?” Deet looked at him intensively. “Because all modular technology is useless without a base. I’m wondering, what would happen if you tried to possess a piece of it? Like, for example…” he placed his leg on the capsule near him “…this Missile Launcher over here?”

T-Ror stood silently for a while. “I have no idea”, he finally said. “Well… could you give it a try?” “I could, but I need my crystal first”. “Then go get it! I’ll wait right here”. T-Ror sprinted to his room and quickly returned. He activated the crystal and placed it next to the Missile Launcher. He sat down. “Okay, I’ll start the attempt now”.

He lay down on the ground and left T-Fme’s body. T-Ror then turned into a puddle again. Instead of climbing out of it, he flowed under the capsule. He creeped upwards, enveloping the entire capsule. When the Launcher was completely covered, T-Ror dropped back to a smooth puddle. The Missile Launcher had disappeared.

Now T-Ror climbed out. Deet was watching him with great curiosity. T-Ror felt confused. He spun around in place, trying to look behind himself. “It feels… a bit like… kind of…” he mumbled. He finally stopped and looked at Deet. “This is so weird. I’m in my own body, but I can clearly feel the Missile Launcher right over… there”. He tried to point somewhere behind his back.

Deet was so satisfied that he jumped. “Yes! The data was correct, you CAN do it!” he shouted. “Can I fire it?” T-Ror asked. “Of course, that’s why we are outside. You should be able to use it, and trying is the only way to know for sure”. They stood silently for a while. “So… how do I shoot it?” T-Ror finally asked.

“Well… according to the schematics, you should turn your hand inside the cannon you installed the Missile Launcher”. “But I don’t have any hands”. Deet stared at T-Ror harshly. “Well, how should I know?! You’re the Ing here!” He calmed down. “Try to… move your muscles over where you feel the Launcher? Or maybe just think ‘launch’ or ‘fire’ or ‘shoot’”.

“Shoot…” T-Ror pondered. “Aha! That’s it!” he said triumphantly. He turned slightly away from Deet and focused. Immediately, a small, bright portal appeared to his upper right. A bright star shot out of it, leaving a trail of glimmering vapor behind it. The star hit the ground away from the building, making a shallow crater on the ground and a loud sound.

“Wow!” T-Ror shouted. “It worked! How did you do it?” Deet asked. “We can fire beams of transdimensional energy. It seems that the Missile Launcher has linked with that”, T-Ror explained. “Could you fire only a missile or an energy beam on your current state?” Deet inquired further. “I’m not sure. I’d have to practice a bit”, T-Ror said.

“Could you save that for later? We don’t have limitless missiles”, Deet said. “Oh, and, don’t forget to give me the Launcher back”. T-Ror turned into a puddle, rose into a glob, returned to the ground while leaving the Missile Launcher out in the open and returned back into T-Fme. He stood up, picked up the crystal and turned it off.

“So, that was quite fun, but why are you interested in that?” T-Ror asked. He shook his wings to get the dirt off of them. “The Chozo weren’t the only ones using modular technology. The Luminoth used it too”, Deet said. He flew over the Missile Launcher and grabbed it with his legs. “And during the war, the Luminoth used suits to protect themselves from your dimension”.

He started flying back inside. T-Ror followed. “I think I can guess where this is going”, he said cheerfully. Deet nodded the best he could and continued: “If I could get one of those suits, I should be able to modify it so that it will protect you from this dimension, especially if I can get a closer look to your crystal. And the best part is that, as the suit is modular, you don’t need to wear it. You can simply absorb it”.

T-Ror noticed a problem on Deet’s plan. “How are you going to get one of the suits, then? Aether is far away. Or so it felt during my trip”. “Hmm…” Deet said, “how about you send a request for the suit? I can personally pay for transporting it”. T-Ror sighed. He felt like he was taking advantage of Deet. “You are offering me so much… and I have nothing of value to give in return”.

They had arrived to a storage room. “Don’t be silly”, Deet said as they entered. “You have something much more valuable than credits”. That stopped T-Ror. “What are you talking about? Do you want my crystal?” Deet placed the Missile Launcher on its designated location. “No. Something even more valuable”.

He turned around and faced T-Ror. “T-Ror, SkyTown has virtually no data on the Ing. All we have is a few biased second-hand stories from the Luminoth and a handful of rather good snippets that we were overcharged for. A private interview with you would be… extremely valuable”. He paused. “And if you… could… possess me for a while… that’d be invaluable, too”. He sounded rather doubtful for the last part.

T-Ror couldn’t believe what Deet was saying. “So in return for a big sum of money and giving me the freedom I’ve dreamt of for decacycles, you just want to talk with me?” he asked. ‘That’s a lot for so little’. “No. In exchange for a small sum of credits and a simple engineering job, I’m asking you to give me data that no-one else has”, Deet said. “I’m asking a lot for very little”.

“Well, if you put it that way…” T-Ror said, “… sounds good to me”. He smiled carefully. “T-Ror, SkyTown expects me to gather data. That’s why I’m here and not on Elysia, helping to run SkyTown. I’m supposed to focus on Bryyo, but good data on the Ing is almost impossible to find. This is simply an extremely good opportunity, for the both of us I hope”.

“Yeah… I’ll be in my own body again…” T-Ror said. “For some reason, you sound a bit… unsatisfied, I think?” Deet pointed out. T-Ror sighed. “A few weeks ago, R-Kul told me that she… likes me. We even kissed! I… showed her my true form, and she… reacted better than I had hoped. But… she’s still a Luminoth, and I am an Ing. I feel that being a Dark Luminoth helps our relationship”.

Deet chuckled. “Oh, that kind of problem! Well, you shouldn’t worry about it. I feel that the Ing and the Luminoth would make a great pair, even better than a Reptilicus and an Elysian, and Owanl and I are each other’s best friends!” He took a small pause. “Okay, you should try to get completely over your war at first, but after that, everything should go smoothly!”

“What?!” T-Ror shouted. “What makes you say that? We’re pretty much the opposites! We’re like… like…” “Day and night?” Deet offered. T-Ror had never heard that one before, but it fit really well. “Yes! Like day and night!” “And have you ever watched out of a window when it’s night?” Deet asked. “Yes”, T-Ror said.

“Well? How did day and night differ?” Deet asked further. T-Ror felt that he didn’t quite understand the question. Not like Deet wanted. “Well… It was dark…” “And you could see the starts. Right. What else?” Deet said. “Umm…” T-Ror said. ‘I’m missing something…’ He decided to ask Deet: “What is the difference?” “There isn’t one. All that changes is the sky. Not that big of a change”.

T-Ror was very confused. Deet interrupted his thoughts: “You are the opposites… the opposite sides of the same coin”. ‘If he thought that that was going to help, he was dead wrong’, T-Ror thought, now even more confused. Deet noticed it: “You don’t quite follow, do you? Come with me, then. I’d like to show you something”.

He took off and flew back to the hallway. T-Ror followed. “Where are we going?” he asked. “To the library. I want to show you a picture. Or maybe more than one, I haven’t decided yet”. They moved silently towards the library. Suddenly, Deet asked: “T-Ror, do you know how the Leviathans used to work?”

“Hmm…” T-Ror tried to remember, “They… travel through a wormhole and crash on a planet. Then they start to turn everything into Phazon. Wait!” He stopped. “Would Dark Aether eventually–?” “Yes, it would. But to get back to the Leviathans, they all have a core or a heart. Destroy it, and the Leviathan dies as well, stopping the spread of Phazon”.

T-Ror started moving again. Deet continued: “To prevent this, the Leviathan corrupts a powerful being into a Guardian”. He sighed. “Like Helios…” He flew silently forward for a while. “Anyway, have you ever wondered what might happen if it couldn’t find anything to corrupt into a Guardian? Ah, there we are!”

They moved into the Library. Deet landed near a screen and T-Ror sat down next to him. “So, what happens in that case?” he asked Deet. Deet was operating the screen remotely. “Well, you see, if left alone, creatures may appear out of Phazon on their own. A few types have been recorded, but I found this one most intriguing. It’s called a Phaz-Ing”. A picture appeared on the screen.

  
 

A Phaz-Ing

T-Ror screamed and tried to flee. As he was sitting, he fell down, bringing the chair down with him. “Are you okay?” Deet asked. “PUT THAT ABOMINATION AWAY!” T-Ror shouted. Deet did as he asked. He then said: “Your reaction is much stronger than I anticipated”. T-Ror stood up, put the chair where it had been and sat down again. “It looks just like an Inglet, only… all blue and wrong”. He shuddered.

  
 

An Inglet

“Exactly”, Deet said. “Now, keep in mind that what I’m about to say is pure speculation… even if I’ve based it on evidence”. Just with this evidence T-Ror could make guesses too. ‘I hope he can go further than me… I don’t like what I’m thinking’, he thought. Deet said: “I know what you must be thinking. That the Ing are the descendants of the Phaz-Ing”.

“We used to… look like that?” T-Ror asked just to say something. “Yes. I believe that after the Leviathan impact, the Phaz-Ing began to wander across Dark Aether. But something about the dark dimension affected them. It mirrored the Luminoth onto them, giving them sentience… turning them into Ing”.

“But after that, you were no longer pure Phazon. It became fatal to you… most of you. Whatever Phazon didn’t kill, it corrupted. One Ing in particular had a high tolerance for Phazon. And he…” “…became our Emperor”, T-Ror finished. “But he was a beast!” he protested. Deet simply shrugged. “Phazon Fever claims everyone over time”. T-Ror looked down. “Well, I’m glad he’s dead”.

  
 

Emperor Ing (back) and Samus Aran in Light Suit (front)

Deet was slightly unnerved by T-Ror’s remark. “Hmm, that’s how the Ing came to be. Or, at least, what our data suggests. If you happen to have anything that would contradict what I have just said–” T-Ror’s head snapped back up. “You said that my home dimension copied the Luminoth’s personality onto us, but you’re wrong. We’re different”.

“I didn’t say that. It didn’t copy them, it mirrored them. Like it mirrored Aether to Dark Aether”. T-Ror didn’t understand the difference. “Can you… explain a bit more?” he asked. “A mirror image is not a perfect copy”, Deet explained. “For example, if you are right-handed, your mirror image is left-handed. Dark Aether is not an exact copy of Aether, and the Ing are not exact copies of the Luminoth”.

“Okay, mirror, not copy. But we’re still too different. They are peaceful. We are warlike”. Deet sighed. “Peaceful. Yeah. Have you never been attacked after the war?” T-Ror looked away. “It’s… different. They were afraid of me, and for a good reason. And it’s been decacycles since the last attack”. And keeping his distance helped too…

“And then there’s your Sentinel, U-Mos. He was chosen to lead because he was a great warrior. Does that sound like a peaceful decision?” T-Ror looked down. “It was during the war…” he mumbled. Deet kept talking: “Speaking of the war, the Luminoth showed exceptional capacity to develop tools of war. They’re even better than the Reptilicus, who pretty much destroyed Bryyo with their weapons. Just… don’t mention that to Owanl”.

T-Ror said nothing. The Luminoth did have great technology, especially their weapons. Deet continued: “And in single combat, a trained Luminoth is far more dangerous than a trained Ing, if we exclude your ability to possess your foe. And some Luminoth can even fight against it! For a peaceful people, that’s rather extraordinary!” ‘Again, he is right. The only reason we were winning was thanks to our numbers’, T-Ror thought. He was feeling strange.

Deet still wasn’t finished: “And then there’s that Luminoth saying they put everywhere. It’s not something like ‘Harmony and peace’ or ‘Live and let live’. It’s ‘Through vigilance and strength, we create peace’. That’s not something a naturally peaceful person would say, I think. It’s something someone who tries to be peaceful despite their nature would say”.

“I feel… strange now. I’m not sure what it is”, T-Ror said. Deet looked at him sympathetically. “The Luminoth try to be peaceful, and they’re very successful at it. The same goes to you. My people, on the other hand, have never had a reason to fight… with the exception of the war a decade ago. I’d rather not find out how peaceful we really are”. He sounded a bit grim at the end.

“…Thanks”, T-Ror said after a pause. “Have you never thought about this before? You should already have all the data I’ve used”, Deet asked with a curious voice. T-Ror sighed. “No, not really. I’ve just worked with dad on the farm. It’s very… simple and peaceful. I like that. I haven’t given much thoughts to the world outside, and even less to the history”.

They both sat silently for some time. Deet broke the silence: “Okay, now it’s your turn to learn about history”. T-Ror lifted his head hopefully. “Is it… going to be happy?” he asked carefully. “I think it is, in the end. After all, it’s what created the world of today! But keep in mind that it’s already happened, and we can’t change it”.

Deet flexed his legs before starting: “Elysia has very little recordings of Luminoth origins. Even at the very beginning, they were a starfaring species. Our more recent acquisitions on their ancient history are likewise light on data. The only thing they tell is that the Luminoth were born ‘of the stars’. They had no planet to call home”.

“That sound quite weird, doesn’t it? All life is either evolves on its own or is created on purpose. Nothing in the Luminoth shows signs of creation, so evolution is the only choice left. But how could a species like them evolve outside of a planet? They had a fleet, where did it come from? If they evolved in vacuum, they wouldn’t need one, and if not, they would have a home planet”.

“I don’t know much about Luminoth history”, T-Ror said. “Where did they come from?” he asked with an excited voice. Deet waited a heartbeat before answering: “They used to have a home planet, but then… something happened, and then they didn’t have one”. He sounded disappointed and tired. “I believe that they had a civil war… just like the Reptilicus did”.

“However, while the Reptilicus didn’t really have anything in space, the Luminoth had at least a small fleet. And while the civil war of the Reptilicus only destroyed most of their homeworld, the Luminoth civil war destroyed all of it”. T-Ror was astonished. “How can a civil war destroy an entire planet? Where would the survivors go?”

Deet sighed. “Sometimes, warriors decide to take their enemies with them. Like, say… a Luminoth warrior when someone tries to possess them”. T-Ror had an awful feeling in his stomach. In T-Fme’s stomach. “But still, an entire planet! Destroying one can’t be easy, even with lots of advanced technology!”

“You are right, if we talk about physical annihilation, but rendering one uninhabitable is much easier. Radiation, curses, toxic gas… There are many kinds of weapons. On a related note, where is Dark Aether, hmm?” “That’s a bit different”, T-Ror protested. “It was dimensionally unstable–” “That doesn’t explain how the same bounty hunter did it again”.

T-Ror was shocked. “Again? She did it again?” “Several times, in fact”. T-Ror’s antennae wilted. “I don’t want to be anywhere close to her. As in, the same star system”. Deet chuckled. “Don’t worry. She has saved the galaxy many times, so I’m sure she had good reasons to destroy so many planets. But I agree that it’s a bit extreme”.

“But back to the Luminoth. Now that their homeworld was gone, they decided to stay in space, wandering from system to system. And they chose a new leader for themselves. Not a King or an Emperor, nor a President or a Prime Minister, but a Sentinel: someone who protects. That’s what they wanted: protection… from war… from themselves”.

“The rest of their history – or at least the major parts – are much clearer: they met other species, settled on Aether, stabilized its Light and fought your people”. Deet looked satisfied. “In other words: the Luminoth are not a naturally peaceful people. They suppress their violent parts, so that they might live in peace. They learned their lesson. That’s why they tried to warn the Reptilicus, but the Reptilicus didn’t listen”.

“Really? They tried to save Bryyo a kilocycle ago?” T-Ror asked. Deet nodded. “Yes. Anyway, when the Luminoth were mirrored into the Ing, the parts that they suppressed rose to the surface. That’s why your people were so warlike”. T-Ror looked at his hands. Hands he only borrowed. “So… I’m everything the Luminoth deny about themselves?” He started to feel awful.

“Correct”, Deet said, “But that is not the whole truth”. T-Ror clenched his fists. “Then what is?” He sounded angry. Deet answered: “That wouldn’t be a full mirror image, would it? The parts that the Luminoth embraced were mirrored, too. But when those parts were mirrored on the Ing, the parts in question got suppressed”.

“So, in short: The Ing express everything the Luminoth deny about themselves, and the Luminoth express everything that the Ing deny about themselves. But those parts are still you. That’s what makes the Ing and the Luminoth a good pair: you have much more similarities than differences”. T-Ror felt better after hearing that.

Deet carried on: “There is good and bad in all of us, T-Ror. We can choose which of those we bring to the world. No matter what is ‘natural’, no matter what the other Ing told you, that good is just as much a part of you as the bad. So, if you don’t want to be violent, if you don’t want to fight, you can choose not to. If all you want is to farm with your father, you can choose so”.

Something prevented T-Ror from speaking. He felt something cool in his face. ‘When did I start crying?’ Finally, he could speak: “…Thank you, Deet. I… this conversation has been… helpful. I feel… free. A bit like… when dad gave me T-Fme’s body”. T-Fme had been a crutch. If he really got that protective module, he could happily spend the rest of his life as a Warrior Ing.

No, not as a Warrior Ing: as a Light Guardian!

“You’re welcome”, Deet said cheerfully. “So, about that interview…” “I’d be glad to do it. Do you have any time in mind?” “We’ll have to settle that later. Let’s see how quickly they can send the suit to us. Speaking of the suit”, Deet lifted off, “you should probably ask for it right away, as it’ll take a long time for it to get here”. T-Ror stood up. He’d send the message right away.

### Lair of the final Lord of Science, planet Bryyo

Getting a suit to protect T-Ror from the light dimension turned out to be a time-consuming task, just like Deet had said. After U-Mos agreed to send the suit, it took some time for the next spaceship to land on Aether. The spaceship also didn’t go to Bryyo as directly as the ship T-Ror arrived in, so they had to wait even longer for the suit to arrive.

After the suit arrived, Deet wanted to take a closer look. Firstly, he wanted to test how the suit would react to the bubble T-Ror’s crystal created. T-Ror himself couldn’t see anything special, but Deet was very satisfied with the results. He said that the best way to modify the suit would be to implement the features of the crystal into it, along with a long explanation that T-Ror didn’t really understand.

Deet also had unfortunate news to T-Ror: he would not risk anything until he was certain how their dimension was actually damaging T-Ror, and the only way to find out was a test. He wanted the prophetess to witness the test, and to provide healing spells when needed. Finding a time when none of them had any responsibilities towards the children was another challenge.

Finally, they succeeded in getting a big enough break for the test. T-Ror was standing inside his bubble in his own body, Deet was standing on a table with some kind of measuring devices and the prophetess had knelt next to T-Fme, holding her palms near his head and mumbling arcane words. She had wanted to use this opportunity to check out T-Fme’s condition.

T-Ror and Deet were both waiting for her to finish. After a while, she stood up. “Do you now know how to heal him?” T-Ror asked. The prophetess shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. But I’m certain that I have a book that’ll tell me how to”. She stepped out of the bubble. “His condition isn’t exactly a common one”.

“Huh? What’s wrong with him, then? I thought that he just had brain damage or something”, T-Ror said. The prophetess folded her arms and looked down, thinking. “Hmm… how could I explain this…? Umm… His body is mostly fine, but his soul… it’s still inside, but it isn’t connected to his body. That’s why your Sentinel couldn’t reach him”.

She lifted her head and looked to T-Ror. “Was that explanation satisfactory?” she asked. “Yeah”, T-Ror said, “I think I understand. That explains why I can’t feel him, either. Are you both now… ready for the test?” The prophetess sat on the chair behind her. “I’m ready”. Deet said: “Starting recording… now!” The devices next to him activated.

T-Ror gulped. He walked to the edge of the bubble. He lifted his frontal leg and moved it right beside the edge. His leg was shaking. T-Ror had touched this dimension a few times on Aether. He didn’t like it one bit, but he was ready to do it again. He quickly pushed the tip of his leg outside the protective bubble.

He gasped in pain. Like before, the light dimension burned him. But while on Aether it had felt like touching fire, on Bryyo the dimension only felt like way too hot water. Like before, he could still feel the warm air around the exposed part of the leg. It was a confusing feeling. T-Ror started to breathe faster.

“It’s okay!” he quickly said to the others. “Not even… close as bad… as I thought!” He was gasping for air. Deet was completely motionless, while the prophetess was wincing. He closed his eye. He could feel his heart beating faster and faster inside him. “You can stop any time you like”, the prophetess reminded him.

T-Ror kept his leg out until his other legs started to shake. He then opened his eye and staggered back. He tried to put his damaged leg on the ground, but a jolt of pain surged from the tip into his body. T-Ror lost his balance and fell to the ground. He was breathing heavily. “I’m… fine… I… just… just…” he gasped.

“Don’t be silly, you’re obviously hurt”, the prophetess said. She walked next to T-Ror and sat on the floor. She lifted his leg and started examining it. She was sitting on a place where T-Ror could only just see her, so he couldn’t really make out what she was doing. He resigned to staring at Deet, who was busily operating the devices on the table.

T-Ror heard the prophetess speak a word of power, and the pain in his leg relieved noticeably. “What did you do?” T-Ror asked. “Your leg seems to have burns, so I cooled it for starters. Next, I’ll apply a pain-dulling spell. I dare not to use anything stronger, as I have almost no knowledge of Ing physiology”. She said more magical words and the pain almost vanished. T-Ror’s leg was now just sore.

The prophetess stood up. “That should do it”, she said. “Your leg should soon be completely healed”. “Can I go back in?” T-Ror asked. The prophetess nodded and stepped back. T-Ror dropped into a bubble and went back into T-Fme. “By the way”, the prophetess asked, “where do you feel the pain now? You have now only four limbs”.

T-Ror coughed. “Throat”. He coughed again. He put his hand on his throat. It felt really nasty, like flu but worse. The prophetess nodded. “I’ll brew you a calming drink. Try not to talk before that”. T-Ror nodded and coughed again. He deactivated the crystal and stood up. ‘I should have used my left frontal leg’, he thought.

“Did you get what you needed?” she asked from Deet. “Oh, yes!” the Elysian said enthusiastically, “This was a really interesting reaction to see! Shame it hurt you so much, T-Ror”, he added sympathetically. He then proceeded to tell his findings in detail, which T-Ror, much to his shame, understood nothing about, while the prophetess nodded approvingly while listening.

“Fascinating”, she said after Deet was finished. “Can you work on the suit while looking over our youngest?” “No problem!” Deet said cheerfully. “I have plenty of good help right now!” He turned to T-Ror. “I’ll inform you as soon as the suit is ready. I’m sure you want to test it even more than I do”. T-Ror responded by coughing and nodding.

A few days later, Deet was done, and he invited T-Ror for the test. T-Ror brought the crystal with him, in case the suit wouldn’t work. “Good to see you again, T-Ror!” Deet said as T-Ror entered the room. “We’ve both waited for this! Luminoth technology is really marvelous!” He kept speaking about how the suit worked and he had modified it.

As before, T-Ror understood nothing of it. ‘Should I learn more about this? I might need it later’, he thought. He decided that he would ask for details later. Deet finished his speed with an excited question: “So, are you ready to give it a try?” “Of course!” T-Ror said, “I can’t wait to get rid of this crystal! It feels unbelievably limiting!”

Deet put the modified suit on the ground and T-Ror placed the crystal next to it. T-Ror than lay down and exited T-Fme. Instead of turning solid, he remained as a bubble and flowed under the suit. He then absorbed the suit like he had absorbed the Missile Launcher before. After the suit was gone, he climbed out. T-Ror stood still, slowly breathing.

“Is everything okay?” Deet asked. “Yeah”, T-Ror said, “I’m fine… better than fine, actually. This suit feels a lot better than the Missile Launcher did. I feel so tough! I feel… invincible!” By the end, he was shouting. Deet nodded. “That is to be expected. The Launcher merely augmented one of your abilities – the least physical one, in fact – while the suit directly strengthens your physical form”.

“By the way”, he continued, “You said that you feel tougher, but do you feel stronger?” T-Ror blinked. “No… not physically stronger, I think?” “And did the Missile Launcher make you both tougher and stronger?” “Now that you mention it… It did, at least a bit. How did you know?” Deet looked satisfied. “All according to my hypothesis about this particular ability of yours”.

“The suit is an extremely potent defensive piece of hardware”, he continued, “so you should be much more resistant to damage than before. But do not think that you are actually invincible. Powerful weapons or repeated strikes will still damage you”. T-Ror smiled. “I guessed as much. I’m always trying to stay out of combat”.

T-Ror stretched all of his legs, one by one. He then walked to the edge of the bubble. This time, he lifted his left frontal leg and slowly pushed its tip outside of the bubble… and felt nothing. The air was simply a bit warmer, but the inside of the bubble was always cooler than the outside. He felt no pain whatsoever.

For the first time, T-Ror was completely immune to the light dimension while in his own body.

He put his leg down and slowly walked out of the bubble. The excitement made him tremble. “Yes! It works!” he said. He was gasping for air. “I’m glad you like it! I’m detecting no faults, either!” Deet said. T-Ror turned to face him. “Do you think that… the prophetess will now heal T-Fme?” he asked. “I’m sure she will, now that it won’t harm you”.

“I’ll just have to ask her after we’re done here”, T-Ror said. Deet shrugged and said: “As far as I’m concerned, we already are. As I said, I’m detecting no faults. If there are any, they won’t appear in a long time. Too long for us to wait here. So, if you feel something strange, you need to tell me immediately”.

“I’ll keep that in mind”, T-Ror said. He then entered T-Fme again. He picked up the crystal, stood up and turned it off. “Do you know what I really want to do right now?” he asked Deet. “No”, Deet said. “I want to go for a run. In my own body”. He was smiling. Deet nodded. “I understand. Sometimes I just want to fly for a bit. Especially if I’ve been unable to for a while”.

“I agree, I enjoy flying too. Anyway, I’ll have to talk to the prophetess now. See you later, Deet!” He rushed to the door. “Hold on!” Deet shouted. T-Ror turned to face him. “Could you think about the interview while we’re doing our jobs? I’ll ask you about it in the evening”. T-Ror nodded. “I promise I will. I think I’ll go for the run after that. I don’t want to scare any of the children”.

T-Ror ran to the room where the children were playing. Or where they would play, after they had done their homework. Now they were sitting in all kinds of places, reading and writing very slowly. They’d get faster over time. The prophetess was there as well, reading from a screen. T-Ror stopped in front of her, his heart still ponding from the run.

“Well? I assume everything went as planned”, the prophetess asked with a smile. “It did!” T-Ror said. “So, about T-Fme…” The prophetess nodded. “Yes, I knew you would ask about that. But your job is about to end, so… could you wait for it to end first?” “Sure. But how will we get T-Fme to Aether? He might get frightened if he sees me!” The prophetess’ smile widened. “What would you think about a class trip?”

### Temple Grounds, planet Aether, a few days later

After a couple days of spaceflight, the shuttle finally landed. That was a relief for Owanl, as all of the ten children were bursting with energy and excitement. She was trying to calm them: “Remember, children: we’re the first Reptilicus to ever visit Aether! This is where T-Ror and R-Kul came from! So, I want all of you to behave well. We all want to leave a good first impression, don’t we?”

“Yes, mom”, the children collectively and unenthusiastically said. Owanl sighed. Spending days inside a relatively cramped spaceship… It was no wonder the children wanted something to do. She hoped that they wouldn’t do anything too crazy. Maybe their guides would keep them entertained long enough for her to heal T-Fme.

The shuttle’s ramp lowered. ‘This is my first visit on an alien planet, too’, Owanl suddenly realized. She started to get nervous. Outside, four Luminoth were waiting for them, three male and one female. The older-looking male stepped forward. “Welcome to Aether. I am the Sentinel of the Luminoth, U-Mos”, he said and offered his hand.

Owanl shook his hand and said: “Good day! I am prophetess Owanl B-Shar” She heard the children moving to a cluster behind her. They had been told that U-Mos was the leader of the Luminoth, so it made sense that they were a bit nervous. ‘At least they will refrain from causing trouble!’ Owanl thought. She felt satisfied.

Meanwhile, both T-Ror and R-Kul had greeted their leader by saying “Sentinel!”, but while R-Kul just briefly bowed her head, T-Ror had knelt. He also stayed in that position. “Rise, T-Ror”, U-Mos said mechanically without even looking at the Dark Luminoth. T-Ror did as he was ordered. Owanl felt like she had missed something.

“Here is I-Sch, one of our healers”, U-Mos said while gesturing towards the Luminoth on his right. I-Sch bowed after the introduction. “He will accompany us while you heal T-Fme, as you requested”, U-Mos continued. “Why did you ask for one of our healers? Weren’t you going to be the one doing the healing?” he then asked.

“I should be able to do it myself”, Owanl explained, “but I have little knowledge of Luminoth physiology and mind. If something goes wrong, it’s good to have someone who knows what to do”. She folded her arms and looked down. “Furthermore, T-Fme might be shocked to hear what has happened, and I thought that he might take it better if one of his own species was there to heal him”.

U-Mos nodded at the explanation. “Good thinking”. He then pointed at the two Luminoth to his left. “And here are your guides, F-Stz and G-Stz”. The woman and the man each bowed when U-Mos said their names. U-Mos looked at the children and said encouragingly: “Feel free to ask them any questions you have!”

All children were quiet, for now at least. U-Mos looked back at Owanl. “Shall we move to the Fme house now? I’d rather put this tragedy behind us”. Owanl nodded. “Yes, best to do this while I’m still rested”. “Let’s head out then!” U-Mos said. He, I-Sch and T-Ror all started moving in one direction. Owanl started following them.

“Excuse me, Sentinel!” U-Mos stopped and turned around. It was R-Kul. “I need to talk with you. In private. It won’t take long!” she said. U-Mos’ antennae lowered. “Can’t it wait until after T-Fme has been healed?” “No. It is… almost as important…” U-Mos relaxed. “Very well then, I know that you wouldn’t ask for this if it wasn’t”.

He turned to face Owanl. “Go on ahead, I-Sch and T-Ror know the way. I will follow you soon”. “As you wish, Sentinel”, Owanl said. U-Mos and R-Kul moved away from other people. I-Sch and T-Ror returned to walking to the Fme house. Owanl followed. She only barely managed to hear one of the children ask their first question: “How do Luminoth stay up when you don’t have tails?”

Owanl winced. ‘At least they behaved themselves for a while…’

### Fme house, planet Aether

The group approached one of the Luminoth houses. T-Ror felt a bit nervous. He had spent nearly all of his time on Aether as a Dark Luminoth. He was used to that. But very soon, he’d have stay as a Warrior Ing, for most of the time at least. It would be a big change for him. He’d have to learn how to do most of his work again.

They saw a house in front of them, slightly larger than T-Ror’s home. T-Ror felt more nervous. He knew that he had no reason to. After all, he was neither doing nor receiving the healing. All he was doing was transporting the patient, and that was easy. T-Fme’s parents should be at least accepting of him; after all, he had not only kept their son alive for 27 cycles, but also found someone capable of healing him.

And yet, T-Ror was afraid of them, of their reaction. He had never particularly interacted with them. He hadn’t dared. Every time he they would have met, he would have reminded them that their son was gone (or at least in a very bad state). When they would look at his face, they would see their son’s – but all wrong, with someone else looking out of his eyes.

And they would be absolutely right.

I-Sch went in first. “Hello, M-Fme and O-Fme. We’re here now. We can begin soon”. The prophetess and T-Ror followed. I-Sch said: “This is prophetess Owanl B-Shar”. “Pleased to meet you!” she said. O-Fme said: “Thank you for coming all the way from Bryyo to heal our son”. The prophetess smiled. “I can’t just let people in need to suffer if I can help them, can I?”

T-Ror didn’t speak. When he entered the house, he glanced at T-Fme’s parents. He noticed that they were holding each other’s hands. He quickly turned his head and stared at a corner. After a short while, O-Fme said: “Where is the Sentinel? I was under impression that he was going to oversee the healing?”

“I am right here” a voice from the door said. The Sentinel walked in. “Sorry for falling behind a bit. We can begin as soon as the prophetess is ready”. The prophetess nodded. “I am ready. T-Ror, could you release T-Fme now?” T-Ror kept staring at the corner. “Where do I put him?” he asked. “Put him… on a bed. If you are fine by it”. She looked at the parents. “I could also use a chair, this might take time”.

“Of course. Use what you need”, M-Fme said. The prophetess grabbed a nearby chair and placed it next to a bed. T-Ror slowly walked to the bed and lay down on it. After finding a stable position, he exited T-Fme. He then floated out of the door and returned to his solid form. ‘I’ll stay out of the way…’ he thought.

“T-Ror! Get back in!” the Sentinel shouted. “As you wish”, T-Ror said. He entered the house. The Sentinel looked at him and smiled. “You have worked hard for this, T-Ror. I think that you deserve to be here right now”. “If you say so…” T-Ror said. He looked at the prophetess and T-Fme, but kept M-Fme and O-Fme out of his vision.

The prophetess raised her hands above T-Fme. “Oh! I almost forgot!” she said. She stood up and faced T-Fme’s parents. “I’m pretty sure that T-Fme will feel that no time has passed between his injury and healing. Form his perspective you last talked a few hours ago. Furthermore, he will still have the mind of a child”.

She paused to think. “He should mature really fast, as he has the body of an adult. Don’t be alarmed. He will also most likely be very confused and scared after he learns how much time has passed, but I’m sure you can calm him down. Be ready for this”. “Don’t worry, we are prepared for problems”, M-Fme said.

The prophetess smiled. “That’s good to hear”. She turned to face T-Fme again and raised her hands above him. “This will take some time and effort”, she said over her shoulder, “so I’d appreciate if everyone would stay quiet”. The prophetess then turned back to T-Fme, closed her eyes and slightly lowered her head.

At first, she just sat like that, hands up and head down, completely still apart from light breathing. Then her hands started to move a bit, first very slowly in large circles, then slightly faster in smaller ones. Then she started whispering arcane words. Just a few singular, almost inaudible words in the beginning, but near the end everyone could faintly but clearly hear them. Although no-one else understood their true meaning, the words began to sound like a command.

Suddenly, a pale, supernatural yellow light enveloped the prophetess’ hands. They looked like miniature suns, or perhaps just glowing globs of Fuel Gel. She quickly rose up and slammed her hands on T-Fme, one arm in each of his limbs, and shouted one last word. Like before, nobody else had ever heard the word before, but this time, they all could understand what it meant:

Wake! Arise! Live!

The prophetess fell back on the chair. She was now panting heavily. But that wasn’t the only sound in the room. T-Fme also groaned, slowly and silently. He turned his head a bit and started blinking rapidly. That sight disturbed T-Ror. He was so used to T-Fme staying still that seeing him move was like seeing a corpse springing to life.

“Wha… What happened?” T-Fme said. He tried to scratch his head, but he instead slapped his face. “Where am I?” His head turned and he saw the prophetess. He jerked back a bit. “Who – Who are you?” he asked, sounding nervous. “I healed you”, the prophetess explained. “You were badly injured. Right now, you are at home”.

She stood up and moved away from the bed, taking the chair with her. “That should do it”, she said to T-Fme’s parents. “You can talk to him now”. Both parents instantly rushed to T-Fme. “T-Fme!” they shouted in unison. “Mom! Dad!” T-Fme said. All three family members hugged. The Sentinel said silently: “They need time. Let’s go outside”.

T-Ror walked out first, followed by the prophetess. I-Sch followed her, and the Sentinel was the last one to leave. He asked the prophetess: “Is that everything, or do you still need to do something?” The prophetess shook her head. “No, he should be fine from now on. It went really smoothly”. I-Sch asked then: “What about me? Should I stay here?”

The Sentinel thought about it for a moment. “Wait here for a while. After they have had a chance to talk for a bit, go in and check T-Fme. The prophetess said that he might be confused or feel off, so make sure everything is fine and that he understands what’s happening”. I-Sch nodded. The Sentinel then turned to the prophetess again and said: “I’ll escort you to where your children are. T-Ror, come with us. We need to talk”.

T-Ror stiffened. “What do you want to talk about, Sentinel?” he asked carefully. The Sentinel started walking towards the Great Temple with the prophetess following him. T-Ror quickly followed them. I-Sch remained at the house. “R-Kul told me about your conversations on Bryyo. About your… plans of the future”.

A wave of disappointment ran across T-Ror. “I take that you don’t approve of it, Sentinel?” he said silently. The Sentinel sighed. “T-Ror… I would like to thank you for what you did to T-Fme. You not only kept him alive for decacycles, but also found a way to heal him. No-one else could have done that, T-Ror. Our entire species is in your debt”.

The Sentinel had started to look sad. “I’ve watched your actions, T-Ror, just like I’ve watched everyone else’s… You have always tried to fit in, help K-Ror and avoid trouble. You might be an Ing, but you are not our enemy. You have given us far more than you have taken, so it is only fair for you to receive something from us in turn, especially after something like this”.

He looked at T-Ror with a sad, sympathetic look. “But what you and R-Kul ask is one of the few things I cannot give you. We are still an endangered species… all three of us, in fact… so we must keep reproduction and genetic diversity in mind”. T-Ror looked away. “It’s okay”, he said. “I knew you’d say that the moment R-Kul and I started to… get close. And I understand why”. He had tried to prepare for this and to sever his connection to R-Kul. This wasn’t that painful to him.

“Wait! The only reason you won’t let them be together is that they can’t have children together?” the prophetess suddenly asked. She had stopped walking. “Yes”, the Sentinel confirmed. He stopped as well. “I don’t like to poke my antennae into other people’s lives too much, but in times like this, I have to”. He sighed again. “For the sake of our children and our future…”

“So, if they could have children, you would let them be together?” the prophetess asked. They started moving again. “Yes”, the Sentinel said again, “but T-Ror is an Ing and R-Kul is a Luminoth, and nothing can change that”. “But T-Ror is adopted, right?” She looked at T-Ror. “Huh? Y-Yeah…” the Ing muttered. The Sentinel said: “Yes, but what does that matter?”

“Well… he has two parents. Two Luminoth, a man and a woman, right? If they would give a sample of their genetic code, we could combine them. The combination would be what T-Ror’s genes would be if he was their biological child. From that, it would be trivial to create something that would let R-Kul to have children. The children in question would, of course, be biological grandchildren of T-Ror’s adoptive parents”.

Both men were silent. Finally the Sentinel spoke: “That… does sound rather reasonable, but where would we get a genetics lab to do all of that? Even borrowing one from the Federation would be far too expensive to us”. The prophetess smiled warmly: “The Federation already has a similar program for the Reptilicus. I’m certain that adding one Luminoth wouldn’t be too expensive”.

The Sentinel sighed yet again. “We really don’t have much money, so even that would be too much for us”. “You could send someone to work for me”, the prophetess suggested. “I’ll gladly take anyone as good as T-Ror or R-Kul… for that matter, they could come to work themselves, after all, it’s them who want this to happen”.

“Maybe a bit later”, T-Ror said, “I’d like to spend some time home first”. The prophetess nodded towards him. “I understand that. The same goes for R-Kul most likely”. She took a deep breath. “Alternatively, I’m certain Deet would pay well if he could interview one of your scholars or historians. Even more if they let him take a look at some of your technology”.

The Sentinel looked sad. “We really don’t have any of those anymore. We’re all too focused on survival right now. I could ask around, it’s likely that someone has an interest in these things. Some of the older Luminoth might also remember quite a bit from their cycles before the war”. They had arrived at one of the three elevators to the Great Temple.

The prophetess nodded. “Then we only have to settle how to let T-Ror have some little Ing children”. Both the Sentinel and T-Ror stopped, looked at the prophetess and shouted: “WHAT?!” The prophetess stopped as well. “Did I… say something wrong?” she asked nervously. “No…” the Sentinel said equally carefully. T-Ror said: “We should… focus on one problem at a time. And besides, where would you even get more Ing genes? I’m the only one alive!”

“You are the last one alive”, the prophetess admitted, emphasizing the word “alive”, “but genetic material can also be gathered from dead creatures. Many Ing died on Aether, right? So there must be some corpses left”. They walked onto the elevator. The Sentinel stepped on the hologram and the elevator started moving upward.

The elevator, being powered by a rocket, was rather noisy. At least it would quickly get all three up. “But the Ing combust in Aether’s atmosphere! There isn’t anything left of them!” the Sentinel shouted over the elevator’s noise. “What about darklings?! Their bodies should have survived!” the prophetess shouted back.

The elevator arrived at the top, and the group began moving towards where the Reptilicus children were. “So, you want to dig up three decacycles old darkling corpses so you can extract Ing genes from them? How do you plan to do that?” The Sentinel asked. T-Ror was also rather interested in the answer. For some reason, right now, becoming a father to an Ing larva didn’t sound too bad.

“With your permission, of course”, the prophetess answered. The Sentinel gave her a sharp look. “But we really should save that for a later time. We all have plenty of work to do”, she continued. The Sentinel said: “I was more interested on hearing how you would remove thee decacycles of decay from the genes”. The prophetess chuckled. “With magic, of course!”


	11. Epilogue

### Background music: [Phendrana Drifts 2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zbs3vbYu9iM)  
  
Lair of the final Lord of Science, planet Bryyo, 25 years after Assault on Pirate Homeworld

Vymsz G-Eaxul was standing outside Deet’s room. Deet had asked each of the second generation to have a private talk with him. They would mostly be discussing their future. Bryyo would need workers of all kinds of professions to rebuild and become self-sufficient. Now it was his turn to have the talk. Vymsz hoped that he could do something he’d like.

The door opened. “Come in!” Deet shouted from inside. Vymsz entered the room. Deet was standing on the table. “Sit down and relax, this isn’t any kind of formal meeting or ceremony!” Vymsz sat down on the chair in front of the table. As soon as he sat down, Deet said: “Let’s start by talking about your grades”.

That came as a surprise to Vymsz. “Is… there a problem with them, dad?” he asked. Deet sounded surprised: “Huh? No, you are doing really well. I just wanted to know what you feel about them. Do you any worries about them? Or any other issues related to studies?” Vymsz shook his head. “No, no, I… feel like I’m doing just fine”.

“That’s good to hear”, Deet said cheerfully. “So, let’s talk about your future next. You, like everyone else of your generation, are about to reach a time when you must choose an occupation. It’d be good if everyone picked different professions, so we didn’t need to rely on outside help”. He raised his body slightly. “And if you can’t choose different professions, I will have to choose for you”.

He started to sound a bit melancholic. “I’d rather not dictate anyone’s life like that, but if there’s no other way…” He looked at Vymsz again and continued with a happier voice: “Let’s hope that that doesn’t need to happen, shall we? You are one of the first ones I’m having this talk with, so it remains to be seen if there is much overlap. So, Vymsz, if you could choose any job, what would you like to do?”

“I’d like to build houses!” Vymsz said excitedly. “Maybe even rebuild the Imperial City!” he added. “Oh!” Deet said, sounding pleasantly surprised. “We are going to need more living space, especially once people start to have more children. May I ask you why building houses interests you so much?”

“Well… I have seen many pictures of the ancient cities of Bryyo. They were… breathtaking, especially the Imperial City. I found myself… doodling pictures of more buildings. Inside and outside”. He took a short break and inhaled. “I’d like to… take those buildings out of those doodles and make them real!”

“That sounds like a good start to me”, Deet said, “but you will need much more than drawing to make houses. You can draw, I assume, but real blueprints need precise measurements. You will also need mathematics and physics, to ensure that the buildings are structurally stable, that they stay the right temperature and that you have room for water and electricity”.

“And that’s just the planning!” he continued. “When you are actually building the houses, you need to be strong, dexterous, methodical and able to operate all sorts of tools and machines”. He took a pause. “And when I look at your grades… you seem to be able to handle all of that”, he said. “Except for the machinery. You are okay when using smaller tools, but you’ve never driven any vehicles”.

“But we don’t have any driving classes!” Vymsz blurted out. “I know”, Deet said while giving him an understanding look. “I’ll look into it. Perhaps we’ll look at some of the machines that were used to build the decontamination equipment? Or would regular vehicles be a better choice? They could be a bit safer, don’t you think?”

Vymsz smiled. “Thanks, dad”, he said. Deet continued: “While we haven’t had any driving classes for you yet, we have had crafting classes, and that has been one of your weaker areas. Building houses is going to be mostly about the same skills, so you’ll need to focus on that for now. And if you aren’t interested in that, you should consider changing your career while you still can”. “I’ll… look into that”, Vymsz mumbled.

“I’m sure you will”, Deet said. He then continued with a happier voice: “But enough about work! Let’s talk about your personal life next. No-one else will hear anything you say here, unless you want to, so feel free to talk about things you might not want to say to your peers. Is your personal life going well? Do you have any problems? Have you found a girl you like yet?”

“I feel like my personal life is going really well. I can talk to everyone if I like”, Vymsz said. “I don’t think that I have any real problems, dad”. Silence fell into the room. “And what about finding a partner?” Deet asked. Vymsz felt a spike of shame in his chest. “I haven’t… done that. Not yet at least…” His voice had turned unhappy.

“You don’t like any of them?” Deet asked. He sounded surprisingly calm, which made Vymsz feel safe. “No, some feel…rather nice… but they all are with someone else already. And I don’t feel like the remaining ones would make a good pair with me. It feels like there’s just too few of them”. The room was silent again. And again, Deet broke it: “Have you ever considered Owanl?”

It took Vymsz some time to comprehend what Deet was saying. “W-What? Y-You mean… the prophetess?! Really?! But she’s a hero and I’m just a normal guy! What would make her interested in me? And she’s busy all the time, she doesn’t have any time for something like this, and, and…” He ran out of words. The whole thought was simply so alien to him.

Deet sighed. “I take that as a no”. “I don’t think she is an option, really…” Vymsz said. “Then listen”, Deet said. “You said that you feel like there weren’t enough girls around. You are right: in your generation, there are 15 boys and 14 girls. Have you ever thought why?” Vymsz blinked. “No, not really…” he mumbled.

“That’s because Owanl is the fifteenth girl. She wanted to find a romantic partner. Back then, no options existed. All these years later, there are. Fifteen, to be exact”. He looked at Vymsz. Vymsz had no idea what Deet was feeling. Deet continued: “She explained that magic and seeing the future go in family, so she has to have children. She hoped that she could be with someone she liked, but if she couldn’t… she would be with someone capable of giving her children”. Deet sighed. He looked really sorry.

“I didn’t know that”, Vymsz said. “She’s always been a… distant figure. Someone you can read about, not someone you can actually meet”. Deet nodded. “To you, that is correct. She has tried to keep her distance from you, so that none of you would see her as a parental figure. That would… hurt a romantic relationship”.

“Yeah, I’m sure that would…” Vymsz said. He tried to imagine one of the girls with one of their teachers, or worse, Deet. It felt so wrong. Deet continued: “I’ve lived with you all for quite some time… And I’d say that you could make a good pair with Owanl. What do you think? I’m aware that you don’t really know her, but would you be ready to give it a try?”

“I’m… not really sure…” Vymsz said. He was feeling rather confused. Deet said: “I don’t want to pressure you into anything. If you say no, I won’t hold it against you”. Vymsz swallowed. Of course Deet understood him. He had always looked after him. And somehow it made the whole situation much worse.

On the other hand… he didn’t have anyone yet. And Deet was right: someone would end up with her. And Vymsz would have to choose someone sooner or later. If the prophetess would turn out to be pleasant company, all would be well. And if not… he could still try his luck with someone else. It couldn’t be too bad… right?

Vymsz said to Deet: “I… I think I would like to… give it a try”. He smiled nervously. “Excellent!” Deet said. “I’ll try to arrange you a time… Do you have any plans for the following week? Would that be a good time for you?” “I don’t have any big plans”, Vymsz said. “That sounds… just fine, I guess”. “All right then”, Deet said. He looked happy. “I’ll talk with Owanl this evening”.

### Lair of the final Lord of Science, planet Bryyo, a few days later

Owanl was putting her clothes on. She had just washed herself. She had to be clean for the next event… her first date. Owanl was really nervous. This Vymsz G-Eaxul could be a great match for her, in which case she had to be really careful for the next few hours, or not, which meant that the next few hours would mostly be a waste of time.

She leaned on the sink and stared at her own image in the mirror. She had not aged a single day in decades. ‘I’m almost as old as grandma was when I last saw her!’ she thought. That thought horrified her. ‘But I don’t feel old… Goes to show how powerful magic and science really are together…’ Andest had lived for centuries, and he hadn’t even used magic for the beginning of his life. The Reptilicus of today would all live longer than him.

‘Just try to relax and take this slowly. You don’t need to rush anything’. Owanl pushed herself away from the mirror. She had read quite a few books about scenarios like this (both fiction and non-fiction), so she had a pretty good idea about what was going to happen and what she was supposed to do.

There was only one problem: all of those books were written by and for the ancient Bryyonian civilization that had died with Andest. The Reptilicus of today had grown in a different environment, despite Owanl’s and Deet’s best efforts. Owanl herself was an even bigger exception, as even after all these years, she still had a heart of the Primal Traditions. And no matter how hard she wanted to deny it, her heart demanded something more… savage. Primitive. Less civilized.

“‘Just follow your heart’. Yeah. I wish someone could have taught me how to do that. It has to be the only thing dad can’t do”, she said to herself. She had started to shake a bit. “I’ll just have to… stick to the plan. And listen to him. He is just as important as I am”. Owanl turned around and walked out of the room.

She walked outside, to the garage door, where she had agreed to meet Vymsz. The sun was already past its peak, but evening was still hours away. Owanl stood in the shadow, waiting nervously. Thankfully the environment had greatly improved in the last two decades, so no sand was getting between her scales.

Slightly before the agreed time, Vymsz walked there. He seemed a bit tense, just like Owanl. ‘Well, at least we are equals’, Owanl thought. She walked to him and said: “Hi, Vymsz!” She offered her hands. Vymsz carefully grabbed them. “H-Hello, prophetess…” he stuttered as they greeted. Owanl smiled faintly as she said: “For this evening, I’d like it if you’d call me Owanl”.

“If… If you say so…” Vymsz said. He took a deep breath. “Do you… Have you planned something for us to do, or…?” he asked. “I was thinking”, Owanl said slowly and carefully, “that I could decide what we’ll do first, and you could decide what we’ll do later”. She blinked. “If… If you’re okay with that…” She found it hard to speak. She hoped that she wouldn’t embarrass herself by speaking like a Primal.

Luckily, Vymsz seemed to like her idea: “Oh! That sounds like a good idea”. He stopped and waited for a bit. “So… what do you want us to do now?” he asked. Owanl said: “I would… like to go fishing. With just you”. That was a total surprise to Vymsz. “Fishing? Sounds… pretty good, actually. All right, let’s go fishing!”

Owanl had a broad smile when she said: “Let’s get moving then! I have everything ready in one of the vehicles. I’ll drive us to a good place”. They went inside the garage. Owanl had previously loaded one of the vehicles with everything they’d need for a fishing trip. She hopped on the driver’s seat, Vymsz sat next to her, and they blasted off.

After she had restored Bryyo’s rotation, Owanl had started restoring the planet’s environment. She had planted various plants all over the world. Over time, the plants had spread out on their own. The now-temperate environment of her home was now a young forest, not unlike the forest she had grown in. And inside the forest, a lake had formed. That lake was their destination.

“The lake we’re going to is only a few minutes away!” Owanl shouted over the roar of the engine. Vymsz shouted back: “I was kind of surprised that you wanted us to fish! How did you come up with it?!” “I first wanted to go hunting with you”, Owanl shouted in response, “but then I realized that you have never hunted before! And… It’s also been decades since I have hunted myself! I might be a bit rusty! Fishing is like hunting, but much simpler for us both!”

“Ah!” Vymsz shouted. “Why did you want to hunt with me, then?! Wouldn’t something like dinner for two be even simpler?!” Owanl responded: “Hunting is better if you want to get to know the other person! You learn how they act; you learn how to work together!” She added in her mind: ‘And if the need arises… it’ll be just two hunters, far away from the rest of the tribe…’

Somehow, she suspected that a need like that wouldn’t arise during this trip.

The lake appeared in their right side. When they reached an opening, Owanl parked the vehicle and they jumped out. Owanl picked up their fishing supplies from the vehicle. “All right”, she said, “here are the fishing rods!” She offered the rods to Vymsz, who chose one of them. “And here is the bait box”. She opened the small box she was carrying.

“What are they made of?” Vymsz asked after he took one of the baits. “I’m… actually not sure. Minced maggots, maybe? Shouldn’t really matter; it’s for the fish, not us!” Owanl said. She took bait too and placed it on her hook. Vymsz did the same. “Now all we need to do is to find good spots and we can start!” Owanl said.

“I thought this was a good spot!” Vymsz said. “You are right; this lake is a good place to fish”, Owanl said, “but some places in the lake are better than others”. “So, what makes a good spot?” Vymsz asked. “Anything that the fish like. Stuff to eat, places to hide, that sort of things. Can you already guess a good place?”

Vymsz thought about it for a while. “How about those water plants over there?” He pointed at the place where some leaves could be seen on the surface. “Very good. Just try not to get your line tangled to them!” “I’ll try!” Vymsz said as he cast his line on the water. “I’ll try over these underwater rocks”, Owanl said. “But first, let me fill this bucket”.

She took the bucket and filled it with lake water. She put the bucket on smooth ground, some distance from the lake. “What’s the bucket for?” Vymsz asked. Owanl cast her line and said: “We can put our fish there. They’ll stay fresh longer”. She then sat down. She held the rod with her upper hands while leaning back on her lower hands and tail. Vymsz followed her lead.

Silence fell to the forest. The only things making sounds was the wind blowing through leaves and the water flowing gently in the river and the lake. Everything smelled fresh. Owanl sighed and smiled. For the first time in a long while, she could just forget all the rebuilding efforts and relax. She noticed that Vymsz looked really focused, but he was looking at his feet, not the lake.

“Is there something you want to say, Vymsz?” Owanl asked. Vymsz jumped slightly and looked at her. “I… this place is really calming. Very different from home”. Owanl nodded. “Yes, I had completely forgotten what outdoors feels like. Too much work, clearly. Maybe the others would like trips in the woods, too?” She blinked. “I’m thinking of work again…” She sighed in disappointment.

Vymsz asked: “Shouldn’t we try to be quiet? Won’t the fish be scared of us?” Owanl smiled again. “Actually, the water reflects soundwaves away from itself. Even if we were shouting, very little of it would even reach underwater”. She took a breath. “But sounds inside the water will carry on really fast and far. So, if we would, say, throw stones in the lake, the fish would certainly hear it”.

“Hmm…” Vymsz said, “now that you mention it… I think one of our physics lessons did mention something like that. I just thought that it was somewhat interesting, not something I would ever have a use fo–!” Vymsz’s rod jerked forward, pulling Vymsz slightly with it. He shouted in surprise and threw his lower arms to the rod.

“I-I got one!” he said. “Congratulations!” Owanl said. Vymsz stood up. “Do I need to do something special now?” he asked. He looked a bit worried. “Nah, just gently pull it up. The fish in this lake aren’t that big, so you don’t need to worry about the line or anything”. Vymsz did just that, and soon a fish rose from the lake.

Vymsz walked back and grabbed the fish. Owanl instructed him: “Now go to the bucket and try to pull the hook out of the fish’s mouth. Put the fish in the bucket after that. You can keep trying to catch more if you want”. Vymsz was struggling with the fish. “I think one will do…” he said. The fish was, naturally, trying to escape. “Suit yourself! Hopefully I’ll catch something soon”.

Owanl did catch a fish of her own rather soon. She quickly put the fish in the bucket where Vymsz’s fish was swimming rounds. Vymsz stood up and said: “Now we both have a fish. What will we do now?” “We cook and eat the fish”, said Owanl. “Right here, you mean?” Vymsz asked. Owanl smiled. “Of course! We’ll cook them over a real fire and eat them while they’re still fresh! That’s when they’re most delicious!”

“This means”, she continued, “that one of us needs to prepare the fish while the other builds a fire. I’m pretty sure that you can’t do the former, so I’ll do it. Everything we need is in our vehicle”. They walked to the said vehicle. All Owanl needed was a knife. Vymsz, on the other hand, took a bag of charcoal, a canister of Fuel Gel, a pack of matches and a shovel.

“All right, is there some spot you want the fire in?” Vymsz asked. “Just dig a shallow hole near the lake and put some of the charcoal there. Be sure to put some rocks or dirt around the edges to prevent the fire from spreading. And be careful with the Fuel Gel: it ignites really easily and it burns hot and long. You’ll need only a few drops of it”.

Vymsz started digging. Owanl started preparing the fish. First, she knocked them out with the handle of the knife. She then slit their throats and dropped them back to the bucket to make them bleed out faster. Soon, the fish were dead. Owanl took them from the bucket and threw the bloody water from the bucket. Vymsz took the bucket and filled it with fresh water, to put out the fire quickly if something happened.

Next, Owanl cut the fish open. She then pulled out their guts and cut their meat from their bones and skin. She threw the bones, the guts and the skins into a bush: a scavenger would gladly eat them. Lastly, she quickly flushed the fillets in the lake water. Any remaining impurities in the fish would be removed while cooking them.

Meanwhile, Vymsz had finished digging and placing the charcoal and the Fuel Gel into the hole. He also had lit a match and thrown it on the charcoal. The Fuel Gel had ignited instantly and the pit was already burning, silently humming and gently filling the air with the smell of smoke. They could now start to cook the fish.

“How are we going to cook the fish?” Vymsz asked. “Do we just put them on a stick or something?” “Almost”, Owanl said. “We’ll use gridirons, they’re on the vehicle as well. I’ve also packed some cooking oil and seasonings there, and some plates and cutlery, too. Let’s get them all out”.

Everything Owanl had just mentioned was in a separate box. They put the box next to the fire and started cooking the fish. The pungent smell of raw fish slowly turned into the aroma of a cooked one. The fish soon found themselves on the plates. Just a small pinch of spices, and the small meals were ready to eat. After they had first cooled a bit, of course.

“Feeling hungry yet?” Owanl asked. “You bet!” Vymsz responded. Both sounded very hungry, like they could barely wait. But thanks to the cool air of the forest, they didn’t need to wait for long. As soon as the fish had stopped steaming, both Reptilicus started eating.

It was the best meal either of them had eaten in ages.

“Wow, I can’t believe that this fish is so good!” Vymsz said after finishing his first fillet. “How come we never have anything this good back home?” he asked before starting the second one. Owanl swallowed her bite before she answered: “Because all of the meat we eat is grown off-world. It’s been in storage for weeks or even months before we eat it. These fish, on the other hand, were alive less than an hour ago. You can’t get fresher food than that!”

“Makes sense, when you put it that way. Maybe that’s why I’ve never cared about meat that much”, Vymsz said. Owanl added: “And then there’s one more thing: you caught and cooked that fish yourself. You can now taste your own hard work in that fish. That’s one of the reasons I liked to hunt when I was young”.

Vymsz thought about it while chewing one of the last remaining pieces of his fish. “I think… I think I really can taste it!” he said after finishing the mouthful. “It’s amazing! I can see why someone would like to hunt and grow their own food”. Owanl nodded. “Yes. That is one part of the Primal Traditions that I’d like to keep with us. Even if it might be a bit difficult in the future”.

They both had finished their plates. Owanl started packing everything, while Vymsz poured the water in the bucket on the campfire. The fire hissed as it extinguished, filling the air with steam and smoke. He was about to start shoveling when Owanl said: “Stop! Leave the fireplace like it is”. Vymsz looked surprised. “Okay… Why?” he asked.

“As I said, others might want to fish here as well. They can use the same spot for their own fire. And if nobody comes here later, the charcoal and ash will decompose on their own. Leaving it like that won’t harm the environment”. Vymsz nodded. “All right”, he said. He started carrying the fire-making equipment back to the vehicle.

Once everything was packed, they hopped in and headed back for home. The sun was already rather low; evening was on its way. “So, what do you think about our fishing trip, Vymsz?!” Owanl asked. “It was a completely new experience to me!” Vymsz responded. “I liked it a lot! I could join you on a new trip, Owanl!” Owanl smiled. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, I had fun, too!”

They soon reached home. Owanl drove their vehicle back into the garage. She and Vymsz then exited the vehicle. “Where do we put all our equipment?” Vymsz asked. Owanl answered: “Don’t worry about it. I’ll clean it up later. This trip was my idea, so I packed everything, and I will also unpack everything”.

“If you say so”, Vymsz said. Both stood silently for a quite some time. Finally Owanl took a breath and carefully asked: “So, Vymsz… Have you decided what we’ll do next?” Vymsz blinked a few times and started rubbing his neck. “Well… umm… there’s this movie I heard about… and it’ll be aired shortly for the first time. I’d like to watch it… with you”. He smiled nervously.

“Sounds like a great idea!” Owanl said. She had read that this was one of the ways courting had been done during the Golden Age. This seemed to feel natural to Vymsz, just like fishing had felt to her, so it was only fair that now they’d do something he wanted. Owanl hoped she’d have fun watching a movie with him, just like he had had fun with fishing.

“I’m glad that you like it”, Vymsz said. “But first, I’ll need your help”. “All right, what do you want me to do?” Owanl asked. “Help me carry one of the screens in the library into my room. That way, nobody will interrupt us while we’re watching”. He blinked. “If… if that’s okay… I’ve never seen anyone take them away from the library…”

Owanl said: “We can borrow one. Maybe I should allow anyone to move the screens in the library. But they must be reserved before, and returned after…” She stopped. She then sighed and said: “Well, I’ll think about that later”. She smiled nervously. “Let’s go to the library, then!” She started walking. Vymsz followed her.

Once they reached the library, they chose one of the screens. The screen in question was one of the biggest, but still a bit smaller than the television in the living room. They also grabbed a computer that would relay the program from the lair’s antennae to the screen. They moved everything they needed into Vymsz’s room without any trouble.

After that, it was time to set up cables. They were rather user-friendly, so that went quickly as well. Getting the screen showing the image properly – and showing the right image – was much more troublesome, but even that was done in a reasonable amount of time. Finally, Owanl pushed the bed closer to the screen, while Vymsz gathered the snacks and drinks he had reserved for the evening.

They had done everything faster than Vymsz had expected, so all the screen was showing was the credits of the previous program. Both Owanl and Vymsz sat on the bed a short distance away from each other. They silently stared at the slowly rolling credits.

“I… hope this room is a good place to rest…” Owanl finally said. Vymsz jumped a bit. “Huh? Y-Yeah, no complaints. It’s a good place to be if I need to be alone”. He moved slightly closer to Owanl. “Or at least… private…” he mumbled. He seemed to have run out of words.

His movement, on the other hand, was exactly what Owanl was looking for. ‘If he wants us to be closer… so be it!’ she thought happily. She moved right next to him, so close that they touched. She then said: “I need private time, too. It can be… surprisingly hard to get, right?” Vymsz glanced at her and smiled. “Right”, he said.

They were silent again. Now it was Vymsz’s turn to break it: “Do you have any preferences in the snacks, Owanl?” Owanl looked at the available treats. “No, nothing in particular”, she said. “How about you?” she asked and looked at Vymsz. “I prefer the salty ones”. Owanl smiled. “Well, then you can eat them, and I’ll eat the sweet ones. For the most part, at least”.

“For the most part”, Vymsz said, although he didn’t sound all that certain. They were silent again. The credits had finally ended. Now the screen showed commercials. Owanl thought: ‘If he won’t move this forward… I’ll have to’. She put her fears aside as she swallowed. She then wrapped her tail around Vymsz’s and pulled gently.

Vymsz inhaled sharply and his entire body stiffened. Owanl’s fears resurged. ‘Is this too fast? It’s so hard to know…’ she thought, sliding closer to panic. But before she could do anything, Vymsz pulled her tail. He looked at her and smiled faintly. Owanl felt relieved. ‘I guessed right! Everything is fine!’ she thought.

For a short while, they sat silently like that, tails intertwined, enjoying each other’s company. Vymsz then asked: “Is this the first time you do something like this? You seemed a bit like you were nervous”. Owanl nodded. “Yes”. “Not even with someone from your tribe?” Owanl looked down. “I was a bit too young. I didn’t… think of it as this. Our tribe had very strict rules about things like this, especially for the more special members, like seers”. ‘And chieftains…’

“At any rate”, she continued, “it was decades ago, and nowadays I remember very few specific things about my time there”. Vymsz thought about her words for a while, and then nodded slowly. He then leaned closer and said with a silent voice: “I haven’t done anything like this before”. They looked into each other’s eyes.

In a perfect synchronization, their heads started to move closer, until the sides of their muzzles gently touched. They slowly moved their heads, rubbing their muzzles together. Their eyes closed. After a rather long time, they leaned back, looked at each other and smiled. “That was good”, Owanl said. Vymsz nodded and said: “That was good”.

Owanl then leaned heavily on Vymsz. He held her with his lower hand and started petting her with his upper hand. Owanl sighed out of pleasure. “I can’t remember the last time I felt this… calm and good”, she said to Vymsz. “I feel good, too”, Vymsz said. “Having some time off from all the usual things. Time off, with you”.

“I’ve enjoyed this evening as well”, Owanl said. “All of it. I’ve been a full-time leader for a long time. Being an… ordinary person, doing ordinary things… I’ve forgotten what it is like. Spending time with you, I feel like I can be just myself. That I don’t have to decide everything for everyone. Even if it is for just a few hours”. She stopped. She felt like she was pouring too much of her issues on Vymsz. That made her feel horrible.

Fortunately Vymsz didn’t seem to mind. “You must be under a lot of pressure”, he said. Owanl nodded. “A planetful”. That made Vymsz chuckle, and Owanl herself chuckled a bit too. After calming down, Vymsz asked: “So, does this help?” He petted her slightly harder. Owanl closed her eyes. “Oh, yes”, she said silently.

After a while, Owanl opened her eyes and said: “Maybe I don’t need to lead us for much longer”. Vymsz looked at her. “Oh? Why is that?” “Prophetesses really shouldn’t lead. That’s how it was during the Golden Age, that’s how it was in my tribe, and in all other tribes. The only reason I’ve been our leader is that, for the longest time, I have been the only adult among us, excluding Deet”.

She turned to look at Vymsz. “Now that your generation is starting reach adulthood… I can crown us an emperor or an empress. Finally, I’ll get to wear our ceremonial armor! What do you think? Would you like to live under Imperial rule?” “An emperor or an empress, huh…” Vymsz said slowly. “Sounds good to me!” he said cheerfully.

He continued: “We’d need to restore the Imperial City for them, right? Or at least build them a palace or something like that. It would be rather odd that someone like that would just live in a small room like we do now”. Owanl said: “You’re right, but that’ll take a long time, so they’ll have to settle for their rooms. For at least a little while longer. But they should be used to them already”.

“I’d like to do the restoring or the building, whichever they choose”, Vymsz said. “But how are you going to choose our future leader? Do you get a vision or something?” Owanl took a breath and started explaining: “Visions don’t really work like that. I can’t just demand one and get it. I can pray the gods for guidance, but that is always unreliable and unclear”.

She continued: “So, I’ll have to look through our history books and try to determine how the royal lineage has reached the present. Whoever is the closest relative to Andest I will be our next ruler”. She paused. “Unless that person is me. In that case, the next closest person will get the title and the position”.

“Are you sure that will work? There were many generations of Primals. None of them kept a good track of heredity, I assume”. Owanl nodded. “I’m fairly certain that you are right. Luckily I have another source: my dad. I can ask him to search Ordyyn’s great library. There has to be some recordings about the descendants of the Imperial family”.

“And if even that fails”, she continued, “I’ll have one final choice: The Imperial Crypt. Many past rulers have been buried there. If I can extract their genes, I can compare them to the genes of the current Reptilicus. Whoever has the closest match will receive the crown”. She shuddered. “I just hope that I don’t get cursed while I pillage the tombs…”

“I’m… certain that the emperors and empresses there will understand that it’s for a good cause. You are trying to find a worthy successor to them, after all”, Vymsz said slowly. He sounded a bit uncertain, but Owanl still appreciated the support. She smiled and said: “Thank you for saying that. I hope that the royals there see it like you do”.

Owanl then stopped leaning on Vymsz and moved a bit further from him. Vymsz then gave her a puzzled look. Owanl placed her hands on Vymsz’s head and side and said: “Let’s switch!” Vymsz remained still for a moment, but then he started to slowly tilt on Owanl’s direction. Owanl guided his head on her thigh and started petting him.

Vymsz closed his eyes and sighed, much like Owanl had slightly earlier. He then started speaking: “I know that this evening isn’t over yet, but… I think that I’d like to spend another evening with you. This has been a… different experience. New and good”. Owanl leaned down and said to him: “I’d like another evening like this, too. I’ve had fun, and I’m feeling recharged”.

They sat like this for a while, Owanl slowly petting Vymsz. She suddenly spoke: “Vymsz, what time is it?” Vymsz opened his eyes. “Hmh? I’m not sure. Why, are you in a hurry?” “Shouldn’t the movie have started already? It’s still showing commercials”. Vymsz stood up and walked to the screen. After fiddling with it a bit, he made the screen to show the channel info.

“This says that it’s the right channel. And the movie should be showing”, he said. Owanl said: “The channel must’ve gotten lots of money for all these commercials”. Vymsz then grimaced. “If the channel shows the ending time correctly, about 40 per cent of the film is commercials…” He sighed, walked over to the bed and sat down.

“Great. So much time wasted…” he mourned. “I wouldn’t be so sure”, Owanl said. She pressed his head again to her thigh. Vymsz complied contentedly. Owanl then said: “I could keep doing this for a while…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading Metroid Prime: Restoration.


End file.
